The stars of the WTA womens’ tennis tour left Hua Hin with a love for Thailand and a vow to return following the conclusion of the 2023 Thailand Open presented by E@.
The event, which took place at the True Arena Hua Hin Sports Club, attracted some of the world’s top players, including Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion.
Supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand the WTA 250 level tournament provided players not only a chance to win a WTA title and prize money it also gave many players their first opportunity to visit Thailand and experience Thai culture.
Andreescu was one player who made the most of her visit to Hua Hin, taking part in a cookery class and learning to make pineapple fried rice along with fellow player Ellen Perez and eventual champion Zhu Lin.
Japan’s Nao Hibino and Slovenia’s Tamara Zidensek tried their hands at a Muay Thai session at the The Legends Arena in BluPort HuaHin.
The 2019 Thailand Open champion Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine, as well as Katie Boulter from Great Britain and Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova were given a lesson in eco printing along with His Excellency Suwat Liptapanlop.
Many players also visited the many temples around Hua Hin, while Yastremska even managed to fit in a visit to see some elephants.
Runner-up Lesia Tsurenko said: It was my first time ever in Thailand and I was surprised how beautiful this country is. I’ve been every day at the beach, I’ve been to the night markets and saw so much of the Thailand culture. Big thanks and I hope to come back again.”
As players left Thailand to move on to the next step on the WTA Tour they took to social media to tell their fans how much they enjoyed their visit to Thailand and vowed to return.
Image Credit: 2023 Thailand Open presented by E@
