2018 season kicks off early in Hua Hin and Abu Dhabi

Dec 22, 2017
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2018 season kicks off early in Hua Hin and Abu Dhabi

Both top men and women's stars will start the season off at the T

Published Dec 22, 2017

The new year is less than two weeks away but the start of the new tennis season is even closer. Four top women’s stars will begin their seasons at the World Tennis Thailand Championships in Hua Hin starting on Saturday, while six of the top men begin in Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.

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World No. 1 Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, and Johanna Konta will compete in Hua Hin, Thailand, a pre-season event that switches back and forth between men and women each year.

Ostapenko and Konta arrived to Hua Hin first, and all four will celebrate Christmas in Thailand.

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Th first semifinal pits Konta against Halep on opening day, with Ostapenko vs. Pliskova to follow.

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For the men, two less top stars will beginning their 2018 seasons in Abu Dhabi as Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic’s injuries continue to linger, forcing them to withdraw.

Wawrinka, a three-time major winner, is still suffering from a knee injury that forced him to undergo two knee surgeries after Wimbledon. Despite the setback, the Swiss star is hoping to play the Australian Open.

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“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play in Abu Dhabi this year as I’m not ready yet to compete at this level,” Wawrinka said in a statement. “Together with my team, I’m working hard and we will do everything to be ready in time for the Australian Open. I’m sad that I won’t be able to play in front of the great fans at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship but I need to be patient and give my body the time it needs. I wish everyone a great event and hope to be back in Abu Dhabi in 2018.”

It is unclear what Raonic’s injury is but the Canadian underwent wrist surgery forcing him out of the US Open and has played just once since then, a retirement a month later in Tokyo.

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Replacing Wawrinka and Raonic in Abu Dhabi is US Open finalist Kevin Anderson and Andrey Rublev. Play at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships begins December 28th featuring Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, and Pablo Carreno Busta.