The Thailand Open is a hard court WTA 250 event, which is held annually in Hua Hun, Thailand, usually after the Australian Open.
Date: | 29 January - 4 February |
Category: | WTA 250 |
Surface: | Hard |
Location: | Hua Hin, Thailand |
Venue: | True Arena Hua Hin |
Players: | 32 players (2024 Thailand Open WTA Entry List) |
Prize Money: | $267,082 (2024 Thailand Open WTA Prize Money) |
Points: | 250 for champion (2024 Thailand Open WTA Points) |
Draw: | 2024 Thailand Open WTA Draw |
The WTA calendar has undergone some changes over its lengthy history, and one of the most recent inclusions is the WTA 250 event in Hua Hin. It's an event that was first staged in 2019, also called the Hua Hin Championships, with the venue being the True Arena Hua Hin.
Since then, the tournament has been held every year except for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In its inaugural edition, the tournament was sponsored by Toyota, so it was called the Toyota Thailand Open, but that name is not used anymore.
Hua Hin also has experience with organizing lower-level men's and women's tournaments, but the most prestigious tournament in the city is certainly the WTA 250 event, which is yet to attract the biggest stars, but it's establishing its place in the calendar.
In the tournament's first edition, Dayana Yastremska bested Ajla Tomljanovic in the final, winning 6–2, 2–6, 7–6(3), before Magda Linette won the second edition in 2020, beating Leonie Kung in a straightforward final 6-3, 6-2.
The event was then not part of the calendar for two seasons because of the COVID-10 pandemic, but when it returned in 2023, Lin Zhu bested Lesia Tsurenko in the final, 6-4, 6-4, to become the tournament's third-ever champion.
It's generally held at the end of January or beginning of February, following the Australian Open, giving players a chance to shake off any unexpected quick exit from the opening major of the year.