Hua Hin WTA Thailand Open

Sawadee ka, thank you for joining me as we explore the 2019 Toyota Thailand Open. It’s been a long time since Thailand hosted a major tennis tournament and we were thrilled to rush back from the Australian Open to join in the excitement in Hua Hin.

The Toyota Thailand Open is big news for tennis in Thailand with a total prize money of $250,000 USD.

Having been at the Hua Hin Tournament in 2017, where it has been a WTA 125K event since 2015, I was interested to see how the True Arena made the transition into the big time. In short, whether the tournament had what it takes to attract players and fans.

From the Players perspective:

It makes an easy follow-on tournament for players from the Australian Open; the courts, the climate, the competition, and what is better than being in the Land of Smiles at the beach?

Identical playing surface to the Australian Open

Does the acrylic-topped hard court look familiar? The blue Plexipave Hua Hin surface is the same as Melbourne Park’s Plexicushion courts for the Australian Open. That’s easy!

Players are acclimatised to warm weather play

Players have warmed up Down Under to cope with Thailand’s hot climatic conditions. Having said that for most of the week, it was a darn sight more comfortable for Fans at Hua Hin, than it was on days of extreme heat in Melbourne.

Beach location

Check out some of the players Instagram accounts – sure the choice is Hua Hin or the wintery beauty of St Petersburg, but if the beach is your thing, then this peaceful seaside resort is the place to be…

It’s a Tournament in the building phase

The other reason for players to come is that the Tournament is unproven and relatively unknown. I’ve been telling anyone who will listen that it’s a steal.

Well, that might be really unfair on the two finalists – Dayana Yastremska and Ajla Tomljanovic both top 50 players, but it is certainly a less popular tournament than others I’ve seen. The biggest superstar player Garbine Muguruza former No 1 and three times Grand Slam finalist, fell at the quarterfinals to Yastremska.

This was big news and a drama. We were delighted to see Dayana play in the semifinals and to be there when she won the tournament.  The hard-hitting teenage sensation Yastremska, comforted by Serena William at the Aus Open, lived up to Serena’s words “you’re gonna make it”

We were cheering loudly for our Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic who some said “was robbed” of her first WTA tour win. It was Yastremska’s pivotal medical time out with the physio at a crucial point that caused some discussion. But that’s tennis and it gave us all something to reflect on.

From the Fans perspective:

This is an easy to get tickets and good value tournament to attend and when you are not at the tennis you can have a lovely time at the beach too!

Whilst the tournament hotel seemed to be the Intercontinental Hua Hin, we were extremely well looked after at the Dusit Thani Hua Hin. To say this is a good weekend is an understatement, it is flippin’ fantastic! Here are my pictures:

Tickets:

We bought our finals tickets online through Thai Ticket Major. Each ticket cost 1,800 Baht ($56 USD) which must be the best value WTA finals ticket in the world? Especially as these tickets gave us entry to the semifinals on Saturday. Tickets were also available for purchase on the day from the site.

Getting VIP tickets into the SCB Centre Court seemed trickier to get hold of, they seemed reserved for sponsors. However, a massive shout out to the tournament ticket supervisor who took pity on us melting in the unshaded seats and upgraded us to the Centre Court stand – hugs from me!

The SCB Centre Court:

How cool is this sunken court?  It’s the only sunken court in South East Asia. We certainly felt at home sitting in the SCB Centre court as it is modelled on Rod Laver Arena. The new protected sheltered grandstand was a great addition, giving the tournament a 2,500 capacity court in 2019.

At Hua Hin, there is no such thing as a bad seat from a viewing perspective.

The matches are played in the evening to take advantage of the cooler weather. With the exception of the Finals on Sunday where the doubles finals start earlier.

On Saturday, the weather was kind and it was very pleasant sitting in the uncovered seats on the stadium side. But by Sunday with no shade, it was too hot. The Tournament Directors need to consider the comfort of Fans for future years.

It would be nice to see greater publicity in advance of the tournament. Talking to other attendees most seemed either local in Hua Hin or by invitation of the Sponsors.

I would like to see all the sponsors’ boxes being at capacity in future years.

Bu all in all, whether you are a professional tennis player (hi!) or a tennis fan reading this, I hope that WTA Hua Hin is here to stay and that you consider joining us in 2020 for the Thailand Open!