The WTA tennis season will be back in full swing following the prolonged shutdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The first tournament on the women’s tennis calendar, Palermo Ladies’ Open, is set to begin on August 3rd.
Last week, two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep confirmed her intention to participate in the tournament, while fellow major tournament winners Jelena Ostapenko and Svetlana Kuznetsova confirmed their participation as well. Now, three more major names will be added to the tournament tree.
They are Johanna Konta, Petra Martic, and Marketa Vondrousova—all of whom are in the top 20 of the WTA World Rankings. A fifth top 20 player, Maria Sakkari, also entered her name into the draw.
In addition to the above five players, the rest of the seeded players at the tournament are world number 22 Anett Kontaveit, world number 23 Elise Mertens, and world number 24 Donna Vekic.
After hearing news of Halep’s participation, Palermo tournament director Oliviero Palma had this to say, “Halep’s participation is exceptional news, it had been decades since Palermo last hosted a former No.1. Our city is very devoted to world tennis, her presence is one of great interest for everybody.”
