Knocked out by Venus Williams in the quarterfinal of the 2017 US Open Tennis Championships on Sept 5, Petra Kvitova anticipates a win in the 2017 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
At the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, the player field was narrowed down on Sept 5. Williams, women's singles champion of the 2015 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, defeated Kvitova 2 to 1 and made it to the semi-finals after a seven-year hiatus.
Petra, a Czech, is known for power and variety of left-handed groundstrokes. Last year, she defeated fourth-seed Elina Svitolina in the final of the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, her 19th career title and her first indoors since winning the WTA Finals in 2011.
Hosted by Huafa Group, the 2017 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai will open on Oct 31. The Zhuhai event is the last on the WTA schedule.
Total prize money has risen to 2.28 million dollars, and Huafa Group has arranged for Stefanie Graf to serve as global ambassador. On the lineup are former top-ranked Angelique Kerber and China's Peng Shuai.
Petra Kvitova in the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]