FORTY YEARS OF HISTORY AND EMOTIONS

The Country Time Club of Palermo has been organizing the International Women's Tournament since 1988. Between the first winner, Karin Kschwendt, and Qinwen Zheng, the last to triumph last year, there is the recent history of tennis. The roll of honor of the International Women's Tournament of the Country Club is full of names who have then dictated the law with a racket in hand. Kschwendt is known, above all because she has played for three different flags: Austria, Germany and Luxembourg. But it is since 1990, that is, since the tournament entered the WTA circuit, that champions have taken to the field at the Country.

The first brace was won by Mary Pierce, winner in '91 and '92, while the primacy of the Spanish Anabel Medina Garrigues who conquered the tournament 5 times between 2001 and 2011. A tournament bewitched by the Italians until 2008 , when Sara Errani prevailed over Marija Korytceva 6-2 6-3. Once the spell was broken, the Azzurri amassed victories: in 2009 Flavia Pennetta prevailed in the derby with Errani, who returned to triumph 3 years later in the final with Strycova. In 2013 the last act, still in blue hues: in the final between Sara Errani (at that time No. 5 in the world) and Roberta Vinci (11) it was Taranto who triumphed.

From 2014 to 2017, the Tournament was held in Kuala Lampur in Malaysia, then in July 2017 the Country Time Club terminated the lease with Malaysia and the WTA approved the return of the Tournament to Palermo.

Six years after the last match, the Tournament was held again in 2019 at the Country Time Club. The homecoming edition of the Palermo Ladies Open had Kiki Bertens (No. 4 in the world) as the star of the Tournament, but in the final, the Dutchman had to surrender to the Swiss Jil Teichmann (n. 82 in the world rankings), winner in 2 sets with a score of 7-6(3) 6-2.

In 2020, the Palermo Ladies Open was the first tournament in the world after the lockdown due to the covid-19 pandemic. Few spectators in the stands due to the prevention measures, but many big names on the field in front of the correspondents of newspapers from all over the world. Surprisingly, the French Fiona Ferro triumphed in the final with the Estonian, Anett Kontaveit. The media impact was extraordinary with 17 million viewers worldwide, 2.548 total hours of broadcasting broadcast by 38 international TV stations in 160 countries, while 19.259 articles were published by newspapers (online and on paper) from all over the world. For the 2020 edition, the Country Time Club received the SuperTennis Awards "For organizing the best tournament of the year".

In 2021, despite the date close to the Olympics, the Palermo Ladies Open was able to count on a respectable draw with Danielle Collins, top seed. The American respected the forecast by winning her first career tournament at Country (in the final with the Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse). A tournament that changed Danielle's career, then she was a finalist at the Australian Open.

The 2022 edition marks the return to the Country final of an Italian 9 years after Vinci and Errani thanks to Lucia Bronzetti who reached the final act of the tournament after the splendid all-Italian semifinal with Jasmine Paolini. The triumph was Irina-Camelia Begu, the first Romanian to win the Palermo tournament since Irina Spirlea in 1995. Among the players who took to the field in the 33rd edition was also Caroline Garcia who, after Palermo, continued her rise in the WTA rankings reaching a best ranking of no. 4 in the world and winning the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, in the United States.

In 2023, the era of the Asian Quinwen Zheng begins, who had already landed on the country courts at just 17 years old and at her first professional tournament. In 2023, she reaches the final against another emerging player, the Italian Jasmine Paolini, who will climb the world rankings until reaching the position no. 4 in the WTA rank in 2024. The match ends with the victory of Zheng

The 2024 edition once again belongs to Quinwen Zheng who beats the Czech Karolina Muchova in the final. Zheng at the Paris Olympics, boosted by the result obtained in Palermo, wins the gold medal and soon obtains the best ranking of n. 7. A few months after the final, the WTA 250 license of the country time club is sold to the Romanian city of Cluji Napoca, but in Palermo the players' association, at the request of the FITP, assigns a WTA 125 circuit event included in the world calendar in week 30 (July 21), so after 35 years the story continues….