By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
The Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships, the only Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour event held in South Korea, have introduced star players to people who are less familiar with the sport than baseball and football.
Among the stars on display in the past were Maria Sharapova of Russia, Venus Williams of the United States, Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. The championships have been a big success by leading local broadcasters to televise their matches live, which is rarely done in Korea for tennis events.
The $145,000 tournament, which started in 2004, will bring high-profiled players once again to charm fans at the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium on Sept. 20. Russia's Maria Kirilenko and rising prospect Victoria Azarenka of Belarus headline the internationally known roster.
The 21-year-old Kirilenko, who is 23rd in the WTA rankings, will participate in the event for the third straight time. The Moscow native finished runner-up at last year's competition after losing to Williams in the final.
Kirilenko, who turned pro in 2001, has collected three WTA Tour trophies, but has never won a major tournament.
Azarenka, 19, who reached her career-best ranking of 14th last week, was a junior world champion in 2005 and won the mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open in 2007 and the French Open this year. She also finished runner-up in the same event at the Australian Open last year.
Although the Belarusian, who now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., has never reached the singles final at a major, the six-year pro has produced consistent results with four runner-up finishes during the last two years.
India's Sania Mirza, nicknamed ``India's Sharapova,'' will make her second Hansol appearance. The 21-year-old upset top-seeded Hingis in the round of 16 in 2006.
Other top-50 players set to compete in the Hansol include No. 25 Shahar Peer of Israel, Australia's Casey Dellacqua, ranked 40th, and Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, ranked 42nd.
The organizing committee plans to hold a variety of events, like a tennis clinic and autograph session, to draw people's interest to tennis.
``We will try to expand the pool of tennis through the tournament, and it will run a fan-centered competition,'' said Lee Jin-soo, the director of the tournament.