Hong Kong Tennis 125: city debutants Emma Navarro, Simona Halep excited for local delights
World No 8 Navarro is also using the tournament to get in form for the Wuhan Open, while Halep is coming back from injury after a doping ban
US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro said she was looking forward to trying more local food and hiking in Hong Kong during her first visit to the city as she outlined her plans for the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis 125 this week.
Navarro, who suffered a surprise straight-sets loss to Zhang Shuai at the China Open in Beijing last Friday, also said she wanted to make the most of her stay in Hong Kong to prepare for coming tournaments in China.
“It’s always cool to see a new city that I’ve never been to,” the 23-year-old from New York said. “I was excited about the food and wanted to try xiaolongbao [before I came].
“I also love noodles and fried rice and we had dim sum last night, so my expectations have been met.”
Ranked No 8 in the world, Navarro was the highest-ranked player to play in Causeway Bay this week, and the former NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) singles champion said she decided to accept the invitation to play in the city as a means to stay match-fit ahead of the Wuhan Open, a WTA 1000 event that runs from October 7 to 13.
“I had a tough loss in Beijing – it was a tough part of a long season after I made a deep run at the US Open, which was new and exciting,” she said. “The turnaround after that was a little bit difficult; it felt good practising at home, but it’s always different getting back out on the match court.
