Photos | WTA Tennis English
Before the start of the Taiwan Open – which kicks off right on Lunar New Year – players got a chance to celebrate at WTA Taiwan Welcome Party!
Elina Svitolina, Lucie Safarova and Jelena Jankovic were some of the stars of the night.
Some of Asia’s biggest names in tennis were in attendance too, including last year’s finalist Misaki Doi of Japan and last year’s doubles champions, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan.
Keeping with the theme of tennis and Taiwanese culture, many of the desserts were local favorites with a tennis twist.
Looks tasty!
The Ws paid homage to the W Hotel in Taipei City, which was the party’s venue.
A master chef was on hand to instruct Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur, Hao-Ching, Jung-Jan and Svitolina in making Chinese dumplings – which are very popular in Taiwan during the Lunar New Year.
Also as a part of the holiday, each player was given a red envelope. It’s local tradition to put money in red envelopes and give them away to people, which brings good luck and fortune.