The WA Open will kick off this Friday, with a strong line up of local players looking to etch their names alongside the likes of Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgeman, Harry Hopman and Lleyton Hewitt, who have all stamped their claim on the prestigious silverware.
The State Tennis Centre will be a hive of activity over the coming weeks with back-to-back AMT tournaments attracting a large contingency of local players who will compete for their share in the $20,000 prize pool.
Kicking off on Friday 10 May, the prestigious WA Open Platinum will run until May 14, and will be followed by the Perth Platinum AMT from May 15-19, to close out 10 days of tournament play. Entry is free for spectators.
WA will boast five local players in the Men’s Singles main draw of the WA Open, with Alexander Park State League player, Edward Bourchier, ranked as the number one seed. The number 44 in Australia, is in strong form after coming off a comfortable Finals win at the 2019 AMT Tasmanian Easter Championships.
Joining Bourchier in the Men’s Singles main draw are WA young guns Jerome Iaconi (17) and Wildcard entrant Derek Pham (15).
Iaconi, who holds an Australian ranking of 88, won three AMT Men’s Singles tournaments in 2018 with his most recent win in the 2019 Alexander Park Summer Gold JT & 10’s and Silver AMT.
Hot on Iaconi’s heels will be fifteen year old Pham, will no doubt draw confidence from his 2018 win at the December Showdown in Melbourne where he claimed the 14/u Australian Championship title.
The Women’s Singles main draw of the WA Open will be hotly contested with Hensman Park State League player Nadia Rajan (18) leading the way for WA. Rajan, who won the Women’s Singles title at the 2019 AMT Geraldton Easter Open, will be joined by North Beach State League player Casey Tay (16) who was runner up to Rajan at the Geraldton tournament.
Joining Tay in the main draw, is North Beach State League team mate Crystal Mildwaters who, alongside Perth born and raised, University of North Carolina Wilmington sophomore, Maddie Muller-Hughes (18), were granted Wildcard entries.
In addition to the main draw entrants, more than 45 WA players will contest the Men’s and Women’s Singles qualifying matches of the WA Open Platinum AMT in the hope of a final four finish to secure a main draw entry.
Tennis West Manager of Competitions and Tournaments, Loretta Hughes said the back to back AMT tournaments provided WA players with a fantastic opportunity to play top level tennis on home turf.
“The AMT tournaments are designed to create quality match play opportunities and help with the transition for post junior athletes”
“These tournaments are pinnacle competitions for players outside of the Australian Pro Tour events and provides maximum Australian Ranking points,”
“Having the WA Open Platinum and Perth Platinum AMT’s back to back are key opportunities for the development of our rising stars,” Mrs Hughes said.
The WA Open is Western Australia’s premier open tournament and is rich in history with the men’s event being first contested in 1895 and the ladies competition commencing in 1929. This event has proved to be a major stepping stone for some of the nation’s best players.
WA Open past champions include tennis legends Harry Hopman (1931), Ken Rosewall (1953) and more recently Lleyton Hewitt who won in1998. Previous winners of the ladies event includes Billie Jean King (1968), Margaret Court, who dominated the tournament from 1969 through to 1971 with subsequent wins in 1973 and 1975; and Evonne Goolagong, who claimed the title in 1972 and 1974.
The Perth Platinum AMT, which commences on Wednesday 15 May, will attract a similar Men’s Singles draw across both qualifying and main draw entrants. The Women’s Singles event is expected to draw a strong field of players with many of WA’s female young guns returning from the Pizzey Cup in Adelaide.
To find out more about AMT events go to: https://www.tennis.com.au/tournaments/pro-tournaments/australian-money-tournaments
For all details regarding the WA Open Platinum AMT draws and results, please head to: https://bit.ly/2H63NqW
For all details regarding the Perth Platinum AMT draws and results, please head to: https://bit.ly/2J5ePAk
Latest
WA