Tennis aces hit the court for WTA Guangzhou Open

The 2017 Guangzhou Open, a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament, got underway at Guangzhou International Tennis Center on Sept 18.

The tournament has been held in Guangzhou since 2004, and has a prize pot this year of $250,000, with the champion gaining 280 points towards their world ranking.

Peng Shuai competes at the 2017 Guangzhou Open. [Photo/wta.cn]

A total of nine Chinese tennis players, including Peng Shuai (2014 US Open semifinalist), will compete in the tournament. Their competitors include world-famous players such as Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, Elise Mertens of Belgium, and Lesia Tsurenko and Samantha Stosur of Australia.

On Sept 19, the second day of the tournament, Han Xinyun, a young Chinese player ranked No 132 in the world, narrowly defeated Samantha Stosur, the winner of the 2011 US Open, to go through to the next round. 

Han Xinyun returns serve at the 2017 Guangzhou Open. [Photo/wta.cn]