TOURNAMENT INFO
Tier: International
Prize Money: $500,000
Surface: Hard
Director: Mr. Jin-soo Lee
Part of the Asian leg of the calendar, Seoul's WTA tournament launched in 2004 at Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center, the 1988 Summer Olympics facility where Steffi Graf took the gold en route to her 'Golden Slam' season. It has also hosted South Korean Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties.
Champions include Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. However, the most memorable one may be Kimiko Date-Krumm, who became the second-oldest Open Era WTA titlist with her triumph in 2009 one day shy of her 39th birthday (Billie Jean King is the oldest). The event increased prize money to $500,000, changed its name from the Hansol Korea Open to the KDB Korea Open and implemented Hawkeye electronic line calling for the 2012 edition.
"The tournament is being promoted with a prize money increase and a title change," Tournament Director Lee Jin-Soo said. "This is the stepping stone to going from an International-level tournament to Premier-level. We plan to make it the No.1 international sports event in Korea."
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