The WTA season will return on 3rd August 2020 with the 31st edition of the Ladies Open International in Palermo. The qualifying tournament will start on 1st August.
The Draw will fetaure 32 players at the moment but Ladies Open’s tournament director Oliviero Palma said the WTA Board could incease the field to 48 players including four players. Organizers are hopeful to invite top 10 players.
Considering that Palermo will host the first WTA tournament since February, the organizers of the Italian clay tournament are hopeful to attract a great field of players, that could include three top 10 players. The possible names who could play in the Sicilian tournament are 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, last year’s Palermo finalist Kiki Bertens and two-time Rome Premier champion Elina Svitolina.
“It will be a special edition. Palermo is the ideal place to restart the Tour. The Ladies Open will have the honour. We will have the responsibility to be the first tournament”, said Palermo Tournament Director Oliviero Palma to Ubitennis editor in chief Ubaldo Scanagatta in a video-interview on the Italian page of Ubitennis.
The hope of Oliviero Palma is to invite Simona Halep, whose manager Virginia Ruzici was the first Palermo Tournament Director in 1990.
“It would be nice to invite Simona Halep, but we are organizing this tournament to give a chance to play to all players. We hoped to invite Maria Sharapova, but she has retired from tennis”, said Palma.
At the moment the Ladies Open is a no-fan tournament, but Palma hopes to open the tournament to spectators.
“Sicily has had a low number of covid-19 cases. I think that there good chances to have spectators in the stand. The tournament will be broadcast on Supertennis. It will be emotional to watch a tennis match after a long time”.
