Li Na and Marion Bartoli will participate in the Shenzhen Gemdale Open which is going to be played from 31st December to 5th January at Shenzhen Louhu Tennis Centre. This tournament is going to be organized for the first time. There will be 32 players participating in the singles event of this tournament, while, in the doubles event, 16 teams will participate. The total prize money in the tournament is 500,000 US Dollars.
The participation of Li Na was almost certain as the tournament would be organized on her home soil. The Chinese superstar has been given the top seed in this tournament, while, Marion Bartoli has been given the second seed.
Confirming her participation in the tournament, Li Na said, “I am going to participate in the Shenzhen Gemdale Open. This is the first time that an elite tennis tournament will be organized in Shenzhen and I want to congratulate the people of Shenzhen for that. It will be a fantastic tournament and I am pretty excited about it. Hopefully, I would do well in front of the home crowd.”
“The organizers have worked very hard to get the rights to organize this tournament. They are still working hard to make this tournament a great success. Hopefully, they would succeed in their mission.”
“It’s great that I would start the new season by participating in a tournament on my home soil. If I manage to win this tournament, it would set the tone for the rest of the season.”
Marion Bartoli was also present in that press conference. She said, “Tennis is a popular game in China and it’s fantastic that such a tournament is going to be organized here. The people of Shenzhen will get to see some quality tennis.”
Apart from Li Na and Marion Bartoli, some other players who will participate in the Shenzhen Gemdale Open are Jelena Jankovic, Laura Robson, Hsieh Su-Wei, Peng Shuai and Klara Zakopalova.