The Korea Open is a WTA 500 tennis event that takes place in Seoul every season. Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center in South Korea is the host venue for the competition. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2004, and it has remained a regular feature of the WTA schedule for 16 years.
However, the competition was canceled in 2020 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Although the tournament was rescheduled to return in 2021, it was eventually canceled too and replaced by an indoor WTA 125-level competition.
Despite the inconsistencies in recent years, the tournament has bounced back since 2022 and has taken place as usual at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center. In 2024, the Korea Open Seoul was upgraded to a WTA 500 tier competition.
Since 2004, the tournament has attracted some of the world’s best female players for the singles and doubles events. Some of the most high-profile former victors at the Korea Open Seoul include Maria Sharapova, who won the first-ever tournament, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, and Jelena Ostapenko.
However, no singles player has won the tournament more than once in its history. In contrast, many players have won the Korea Open Seoul doubles title multiple times. Recently, the South Korean duo of Choi Ji-hee and Han Na-lae have won the event. In 2018 and 2021, the doubles team lifted the title.
However, the most successful doubles player in Korea Open history is Spanish player Lara Arruabarrena. She has won the tournament three times, with different partners on each occasion.
