From Seoul, South Korea, April 2018

1. Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Sttutgart, Germany

ABOUT:

The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a women's tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It will be the 41st edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and part of the Premier tournaments of the 2018 WTA Tour. It will take place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from 23 to 29 April.

Point system for singles

winner - 470

finalist - 305

semifinalists - 185

quarter finalists - 100

round of 16 - 55

round of 32 - 1

Seeds

FINALISTS:

Karolina Pliskova (Czech, right) and Coco Vandeweghe (USA, left)

Score: 7(7)-6(2), 6-4

   WINNER:   

Karolina Pliskova

2017 winner:

Laura Siegemund, Germany

2. TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, Turkey

ABOUT:

The 2018 İstanbul Cup (also known as the TEB BNP Paribas İstanbul Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It will be the 11th edition of the İstanbul Cup, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2018 WTA Tour. It will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 23 through 29 April 2018.

Point system for singles

winner - 280

finalist - 180

semifinalists - 110

quarter finalists - 60

round of 16 - 30

round of 32 - 1

Seeds

FINALISTS:

Pauline Parmentier (France) and Polona Hercog (Slovenia)

Score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Pauline Parmentier (France)

Polona Hercog (Slovenia)

   WINNER:   

Pauline Parmentier (France)

2017 winner:

Elina Svitolina, Ukraine

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Ganghwa Island, South Korea, January 2018

1.Brisbane, Australia

SEMIFINALISTS

RESULTS

WINNER

***

2. Shenzhen, China

SEMIFINALISTS

RESULTS

WINNER

***

3. Auckland, New Zealand

SEMIFINALISTS

FINALISTS

WINNER

wtatennis.com

From Seoul, South Korea, October 2017

안녕 folks!

Simona Halep's way to her first WTA number 1 ranking was halted several times in the months before China Open (30 Sept- 8 Oct, 2017). The Roland Garros final loss to Jelena Ostapenko and the elimination from US Open by Maria Sharapova in the first round, were not easy to deal with psychologically. 

In an interview for a Romanian TV channel she stated the Roland Garros final haunted her dreams for days after the game. Aggressive player Ostapenko is not an easy opponent these days in the WTA tournaments. 

On the other side, Halep lost all her previous games to Sharapova, seven in number, a situation that led some to say she had developed a Sharapova complex. However, Halep denied such a thing, still admitting that it was one of her biggest wishes to beat the Russian.

<Previous meetings, before Beijing 2017>

     China Open will remain a tournament to remember for Simona Halep. 

<Petra Kvitova, Caroline Garcia, Jelena Ostapenko, Simona Halep>

She obtained her first victory in two sets against the 'unbeatable Russian': 6-2, 6-2.

She took revenge for the Roland Garros final, becoming WTA No 1, after the semifinal against Ostapenko: 6-2, 6-4.

Yet Simona is getting a lot of criticism from fans all over the world who say that a No 1 without a Grand Slam is not a real No 1. Regarding this, only time will tell the truth. 

Sources:

TVR1 interview with Simona Halep, in Romanian:

Pictures:

https://www.facebook.com/WTA/?ref=br_rs

http://www.wtatennis.com/

Watch:

2017 China Open 3rd Round against Maria Sharapova, highlights:

https://youtu.be/3oYXBWw_RR8

2017 China Open semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko, highlights:

https://youtu.be/gUt8s9lIVRk