ASB Classic Wildcard Playoffs are back

Photo: Monique Barry at the women's wildcard tournament last year

Tennis New Zealand has confirmed with ASB Classic Tournament Director Nicolas Lamperin that there will be wildcard playoffs again this summer.

The tournaments for main draw and qualifying wildcards for the best Kiwi players have been run by Tennis New Zealand for the last few years. The winner of each tournament is guaranteed a main draw wildcard and the runner up wins one for the qualifying draw.

Last year Monique Barry defeated Elyse Tse in the women’s wildcard tournament, while the men’s was won by KP Pannu, who beat Jack Loutit in the final.

Tennis New Zealand CEO Julie Paterson recognises the importance of the occasion for Kiwi players. 

"It is a fantastic opportunity to have a break-through on home soil." She said. 

"Usually, our players are at a disadvantage, needing extensive travel to get to tournaments throughout the year. So, the opportunity to compete at home, where they'll have the crowd’s full support, is an exciting advantage."

"Many of our players have had big wins this year, especially in the Davis Cup, proving they are capable of beating higher ranked opponents."     

Lamperin says once more, wildcards for New Zealand players will again be awarded to players who do well in the playoff tournament.

“It's just something that we want to continue,” Lamperin said. 

“Hopefully we get the best players to enter, because there's a big reward, and it's something which should push them to play and basically to try to help them with their career.”

The women’s wildcard tournament will be held on December 23-24 at the ASB Tennis Arena, with the men’s playoff being held in Te Anau on December 28-29.

Tennis New Zealand and Lamperin are aligned on the rules for ASB Classic wildcards, which will remain the same as in previous years. If New Zealand players want a wildcard, they need to enter the playoff tournament.

“The rule doesn't change, we'll stick to our position,” Lamperin said. 

“It's something which is fair for everybody, and we want to make sure everyone has the same chance of getting in.”

Because of the wildcard playoff, there will be two New Zealanders guaranteed to play in the main draw of the women’s ASB Classic, as Te Anau-born Lulu Sun will make it in directly through her world ranking.

At the ASB Classic earlier this year there were strong performances from New Zealand players. Barry lost 7-6 6-2 to Elina Avanesyan, who is now ranked 45 in the world.

Sun, who was playing for Switzerland at the time, came through qualifying to make it to the second round, while Tse put up a good fight in her 6-1 7-5 defeat to Brenda Fruhvirtová. 

In the men’s ASB Classic Loutit won a match in qualifying, while Pannu lost a tight first round match to Max Purcell 6-4 6-4.