The 2016 WTA Brazil Cup is a clay-court event stuck in what is, for most players on the WTA Tour, the summer hardcourt season. This is a departure from the progression of hardcourt events because the Olympic Games in Rio forced the Rogers Cup (the WTA Tour stop in Canada) to be moved up on the calendar to accommodate players. The Brazil Cup usually would have been held the last week of July, but with Canada moving up a week for the Olympics, Florianopolis has been pushed back into the first week of August, occupying a relatively unusual place on the calendar.
The competition in the 32-player main draw began on Monday, August 1.
Event Details
Event: WTA Brazil Cup
Category: WTA International tier
Date: August 1 – 7, 2016
Location: Costao do Santinho – Florianopolis, Brazil
The 2016 Brazil Cup will mark just the fourth edition of the tournament. Moreover, it was played on hardcourt at the start in 2013 before the switch to clay.
With a prize money allotment in the area of $250,000, there won’t be a lot of fat paychecks for most players. The field gathered in this part of Brazil can’t expect to play in an appreciably prestigious tournament during the week of the Olympics. This is a table-scraps event, but it’s better than nothing, and definitely a chance for clay-court specialists to continue to ply their trade before an extended run of hardcourt events, which lead into the fall indoor season. There’s not nearly as much clay-court tennis as many feel there should be on either the WTA or ATP Tours, so anyone who loves clay tennis should embrace this tournament, despite the comparatively modest field, one without any real big names on tour.
The points structure under any of the WTA International tier events on the women’s tour will offer 280 player points towards the winner’s ranking, with 180 points going to the tournament’s runner-up. Semifinalists get 110 points, quarterfinalists 60, and round of 16 players 30 points. First round (round of 32) losers get only one point.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Teliana Pereira def. Annika Beck – 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2014 – Klara Zakopalova def. Garbine Muguruza – 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
2013 – Monica Niculescu def. Olga Puchkova – 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Player Info:
This is a field with a lot of players who – if they win – will wind up winning their first WTA Tour singles title. The highest-ranked player in the whole field (as of the weekend before the tournament) is No. 64. That’s Tatjana Maria of Germany, who had a contentious incident with Alize Cornet at this past spring’s French Open in Paris. She does not have a very successful record this year as she’s just 15-18. For her career, though, she is 422-307. She’s found success as a doubles player, winning her second-ever doubles title this year.
The second seed is Alja Tomjanovic, whose career has stalled the past few years contrary to some expectations among pundits. She is currently the 170th ranked player in the world and while she normally wouldn’t have much of a chance to win, she should get a decent opportunity here. Annika Beck, the runner-up last year, is the third seed. Teliana Pereira, the defending champion and a Brazilian citizen, is the fourth seed in her home country. Bethanie Mattek-Sands is seeded fifth. Louisa Chirico, ranked at 128, is seeded sixth. Laura Siegemund is seventh. Paula Kania, ranked at 198, is eighth. She is just 9-5 on the year, although she has a healthy $108,540 in winnings this year. Most regular people wouldn’t complain about that purse but clearly in the tennis world, she wouldn’t normally be a contender at most events. We’ll see if the 24-year-old Polish starlet can earn her first WTA Tour victory here.
Costao do Santinho
The Costao do Santinho is a golf and tennis resort and spa facility, the clay-court tennis complex being a part of a larger whole. Florianopolis is a seaside community, giving players who attend this tournament an expectation – or at least a hope – that when they’re done playing the tournament, they might be able to sneak in one or two vacation days.
