WTA Auckland Open

For the Men's event, see ATP Auckland Open.

The WTA Auckland Open (currently sponsored by ASB Bank and called the ASB Classic) is a professional women's tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. The tournament is played annually, in the first week of January, at the ASB Tennis Centre in the suburb of Parnell, just east of the Central Business District. It is an International level tournament in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World Tour. The equivalent men's event, the ATP Auckland Open, is played in the following week, immediately ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the Australian Open.

WTA Auckland Open
WTA Tour
Founded	1956; 68 years ago (1956)
Location	Auckland New Zealand
Venue	ASB Tennis Centre
Category	WTA 250
Surface	Hard (Plexicushion) - outdoors
Draw	32S / 24Q / 16D
Prize money	US$267,082 (2024)
Website	asbclassic.co.nz
Current champions (2024)
Singles	Coco Gauff
Doubles	Anna Danilina Viktória Hrunčáková

The ASB Classic returned in 2023 after the 2021 and 2022 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic owing travel restrictions for international visitors to New Zealand.^[1][2][3]

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia was the 2014 singles champion

History

In 1886 the first open tournament held in Auckland was the Auckland Championships^[4] was the precursor event to this one, but was not always staged. In the 1920s major new tennis venues were built in Auckland for the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association (now called Tennis Auckland), as well as Wellington and Christchurch comprising both grass and hard courts.^[5] In 1920 when the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association was looking for a permanent base, the only available site was a tip in Stanley Street. Undeterred, the local clubs raised the-then enormous sum of 1,800 pounds to prepare the site and build new courts. For the next 30 years the Tennis Centre in Stanley Street was home to local tennis matches. In 1942 the Auckland Championships were discontinued. In 1954 a second version of the Auckland Championships was revived that is still being staged today.^[6]

In 1956 Auckland hosted its first new permanent international tournament, known as the 'Auckland Invitation'.^[7] In 1959 the tournament was renamed as the New Zealand Invitation before returning to its former name in 1960. By the 1960s the shuttle bus fare from town to Stanley Street was sixpence. Admission was five shillings for the first three days and 7/6 for finals and semifinals – a whole tournament for the equivalent of $4. By the 1970s, 25 cents got you all-day parking next door at Carlaw Park. The tournament was played on outdoor grass courts from its inaugural edition in 1956 until 1977, switching to hard courts in 1978.

In 1963 this event was rebranded as the Auckland Wills International tournament. In 1969 its official name was altered again to the New Zealand Open. In 1971 its official name was changed to the New Zealand Centennial Open for one year only before returning to its former name until 1981 when the event was separated into the ATP Auckland Open for men and the WTA Auckland Open for women. Between 1979 and 1989 the men's editions of the tournament were part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit.

From 1969, the first edition in the open era of tennis, until 1981 the joint tournament was known under its sponsored name 'Benson and Hedges Open'. When the event was split into two tournaments the men's sponsorship continued as the Benson and Hedges Open. Then from 1998 until 2015 it was named the 'Heineken Open'.^[8] There was no women's events for the years 1983 to 1984 and 1986. In 1987 the women's event resumed and its sponsorship name was the Nutri-Metics Open until 1989, then called the Nutri-Metics International in 1990, then the Nutri-Metics Bendon Classic from 1991 to 1992, then the Amway Classic from 1993 to 1996. In 1997 it was branded as the ASB Classic a women's tournament.

After being separated for 34 years, the WTA and ATP merged the event in 2016 and both tournaments are now known collectively as the ASB Classic. Heineken will still be a sponsor but will have a diminished role in anticipation of new tennis regulations restricting alcohol sponsorship.^[9]

Both the 2021 and 2022 Auckland Open were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In regards to the 2022 cancellation, organizers cited New Zealand's strict quarantine rules as making it intractable for players, officials, and all other required staff to be admitted into the country.^[10][2]

Finals

Singles

For historical winners of this event see Auckland Championships 1886–1942
Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Auckland Invitation
1956[11]	Mary Bevis Hawton	Thelma Coyne Long	8–6, 10–8
1957[11]	Margaret Hellyer	Ruia Morrison	6–4, 6–4
1958[11]	Angela Mortimer	Ruia Morrison	6–2, 6–1
New Zealand Invitation
1959[11]	Ruia Morrison	Betty Holstein	6–4, 6–4
Auckland Invitation
1960[11]	Ruia Morrison (2)	Margaret Smith	6–2, 6–4
1961[11]	Jan Lehane	Ruia Morrison	6–0, 6–3
1962[11]	Darlene Hard	Ruia Morrison	7–5, 7–5
Auckland Wills International
1963[11]	Lesley Turner	Ruia Morrison-Davy	6–2, 6–1
1964[11]	Margaret Smith	Jan Lehane	6–4, 3–6, 6–0
1965[11]	Rita Bentley	Jill Blackman	6–4, 6–3
1966[11]	Margaret Smith (2)	Kerry Melville	6–1, 6–1
1967[11]	Rosie Casals	Françoise Dürr	6–2, 7–5
1968[11]	Kerry Melville	Gail Sherriff	8–6, 6–1
↓  Open Era  ↓
New Zealand Open
1969[11]	Ann Haydon Jones	Karen Krantzcke	6–1, 6–1
1970[11]	Ann Haydon Jones (2)	Kerry Melville	0–6, 6–4, 6–1
New Zealand Centennial Open
1971[11]	Margaret Smith Court (3)	Evonne Goolagong	3–6, 7–6, 6–2
New Zealand Open
1972[11]	Kerry Melville	Rosie Casals	6–2, 6–0
1973[11]	Evonne Goolagong	Marilyn Pryde	6–0 6–1
1974[11]	Evonne Goolagong (2)	Ann Kiyomura	6–3, 6–1
1975[11]	Evonne Goolagong (3)	Linda Mottram	6–2, 7–5
1976[11]	Sue Barker	Helga Niessen Masthoff	6–5, rained out title shared
1977[11]	Heidi Eisterlehner	Karen Krantzcke	6–4, 6–4
1978[11]	Helena Anliot	Marilyn Tesch	6–4, 6–3
1979[11]	Pam Whytcross	Brenda Perry	6–3, 7–5
WTA Auckland Open
1980[11]	Janet Newberry	Judy Connor Chaloner	6–2, 6–1
1981[11]	Pam Whytcross (2)	Chris Newton	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
1982[11]	Susan Hagey	Belinda Cordwell	6–4, 6–2
↓  Category 1  ↓
1986[11]	Anne Hobbs	Louise Field	6–4, 6–2
1987[11]	Gretchen Magers	Terry Phelps	6–2, 6–3
1988[11]	Patty Fendick	Sara Gomer	6–3, 7–6
1989[11]	Patty Fendick (2)	Belinda Cordwell	6–2, 6–0
↓ Tier V ↓
1990[11]	Leila Meskhi	Sabine Appelmans	6–1, 6–0
1991[11]	Eva Švíglerová	Andrea Strnadová	6–2, 0–6, 6–1
1992[11]	Robin White	Andrea Strnadová	6–0, 6–0
↓ Tier IV ↓
1993[11]	Elna Reinach	Caroline Kuhlman	6–0, 6–0
1994[11]	Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen	Inés Gorrochategui	7–6(7–4), 6–3
1995[11]	Nicole Bradtke	Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen	3–6, 6–2, 6–1
1996[11]	Sandra Cacic	Barbara Paulus	6–3, 1–6, 6–4
1997[11]	Marion Maruska	Judith Wiesner	6–3, 6–1
1998[11]	Dominique van Roost	Silvia Farina	4–6, 7–6, 7–5
1999	Julie Halard-Decugis	Dominique van Roost	6–4, 6–1
2000	Anne Kremer[11]	Cara Black	6–4, 6–4
↓ Tier V ↓
2001[11]	Meilen Tu	Paola Suárez	7–6(10–8), 6–2
↓ Tier IV ↓
2002[11]	Anna Smashnova	Tatiana Panova	6–2, 6–2
2003[11]	Eleni Daniilidou	Cho Yoon-jeong	6–4, 4–6, 7–62
2004[11]	Eleni Daniilidou (2)	Ashley Harkleroad	6–3, 6–2
2005[11]	Katarina Srebotnik	Shinobu Asagoe	5–7, 7–5, 6–4
2006[11]	Marion Bartoli	Vera Zvonareva	6–2, 6–2
2007[11]	Jelena Janković	Vera Zvonareva	7–6(11–9), 5–7, 6–3
2008[11]	Lindsay Davenport	Aravane Rezaï	6–2, 6–2
↓  International  ↓
2009[11]	Elena Dementieva	Elena Vesnina	6–4, 6–1
2010[11]	Yanina Wickmayer	Flavia Pennetta	6–3, 6–2
2011[11]	Gréta Arn	Yanina Wickmayer	6–3, 6–3
2012[11]	Zheng Jie	Flavia Pennetta	2–6, 6–3, 2–0 Ret.
2013[11]	Agnieszka Radwańska	Yanina Wickmayer	6–4, 6–4
2014[11]	Ana Ivanovic	Venus Williams	6–2, 5–7, 6–4
2015[11]	Venus Williams	Caroline Wozniacki	2–6, 6–3, 6–3
Auckland Open
2016[11]	Sloane Stephens	Julia Görges	7–5, 6–2
2017[11]	Lauren Davis	Ana Konjuh	6–3, 6–1
2018[11]	Julia Görges	Caroline Wozniacki	6–4, 7–6(7–4)
2019[11]	Julia Görges (2)	Bianca Andreescu	2–6, 7–5, 6–1
2020[11]	Serena Williams	Jessica Pegula	6–3, 6–4
2021	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022
↓  WTA 250  ↓
2023	Coco Gauff	Rebeka Masarova	6–1, 6–1
2024	Coco Gauff (2)	Elina Svitolina	6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–3

Event names

This tournament had just its official names from 1956 to 1968 with no sponsorship. In 1969 following the start of the open era sponsorship begins and the event carries both its official designation and its sponsorship title.

Official

Name	Years	Event type
Auckland Invitation	1956–1958, 1960–1962	combined
New Zealand Invitation	1959	combined
Auckland Wills International	1963–1968	combined
New Zealand Open	1969–1979	combined
Auckland Open	1980–1981	combined
WTA Auckland Open	1982–2015	women's
Auckland Open	2016–current	combined

Sponsored

The tournaments sponsored names have been as follows:

Name	Years	Event type
Benson & Hedges Open	1969–1970, 1960–1962	combined
Benson & Hedges Centennial Open	1971	combined
Benson & Hedges Open	1972–1981	combined
events separate (1982–2015) & no women events (1983–85)
Nutri-Metics Open	1987–1989	women's
Nutri-Metics International	1990	women's
Nutri-Metics Bendon Classic	1991–1992	women's
Amway Classic	1993–1996	women's
ASB Classic	1997–2015	women's
events combine again (2016)
ASB Classic	2016–current	combined

See also

• List of tennis tournaments
• Auckland Championships – precursor combined tournament to this one (1886–1942) revived in (1954).
• ATP Auckland Open – men's tournament.

References

1. "2021 ASB Classic cancelled". Stuff. 6 October 2020.
2. "Tennis: ASB Classic cancelled for second straight year". NZ Herald. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
3. "ASB Classic to return to Auckland after 2-year hiatus". 1News. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
4. "The Auckland Tennis Championships". New Zealand Herald: Volume XXIX. No. 8813. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 February 1892. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
5. Romanos, Joseph (5 September 2013). "Tennis: Consolidation, 1920s to 1940s". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
6. "Auckland Champs Roll of Honour". Tennis Auckland. 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
7. Romanos (2013)
8. "Tennis: Net profits the name of the game". New Zealand Herald. 5 January 2002.
9. "ATP and WTA Auckland events merge". Tennisnews.com. 28 August 2015.
10. "2021 ASB Classic cancelled". Stuff. 6 October 2020.
11. "Roll of Champions 1956-2020". ASB Classic. Tennis Auckland. 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

External links

• Official website