WTA announces schedule for start of 2022 – but Shenzhen Open is missing

WTA Tour
WTA Tour

The WTA has announced its tournament calendar for the first six months of the season and most events will be taking place in their traditional slots.

The 2022 campaign kicks off with the Australia Summer of Tennis including competitions such as the Adelaide International and the Sydney Tennis Classic as well as the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, which is being staged in its usual home of Melbourne Park from January 17.

The conventional timetable continues until Wimbledon in June which marks the end of the grass-court swing and more tournaments are expected to be announced for the second half of the year in due course.

“The 2022 WTA tour calendar will once again provide a prestigious stage for the world’s best female tennis players to compete on,” said Steve Simon, CEO and Chairman of WTA.

“We are excited to get the new season underway and build on the popularity and legacy of our tournaments, while watching our stars and emerging talent showcase their skills to over 850 million fans worldwide.”

However, the Shenzhen Open which is normally played in the first week of the year is nowhere to be seen on the schedule and that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

Last week it was announced the WTA would be suspending all its competitions in China as a result of the ongoing situation with Chinese player Peng Shuai as the organisation isn’t satisfied with the assurances they’ve been given about the well-being of the 35-year-old.

There are plenty of competitions for players to be getting stuck into between now and then though, there are five WTA 1000 tournaments planned at the beginning of the year including the Qatar Open in February, Indian Wells and the Miami Open a month later, the Madrid Open in April and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome in May, just a few weeks before the second Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

Eight WTA 500 and approximately 15 WTA 250 events have also been scheduled in the first six months of the season.

The season gets underway on January 3 with the Adelaide International.

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