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Teenager Swiatek crushed American Sofia Kenin
6-4 6-1 to triumph at the rescheduled French Open in October and
became Poland's first Grand Slam singles champion.
The 19-year-old was also the youngest woman to win the title
since Monica Seles in 1992, the first Polish woman to reach the
Roland Garros final in 81 years and the first at any major since
Agnieszka Radwanska at Wimbledon in 2012.
"For sure Iga's result inspired us and helped (us) to organise
this tournament. Such ideas have been around for a long time,
but it was quite hard to put many things together...," Iga's
father Tomasz, CEO of the tournament's organisers Tennis
Consulting, told Reuters.
"To organise such a tournament there must also be the interest
of sponsors...(Iga's success) definitely helped..."
The event will take place from July 17-25 in Gdynia, northern
Poland, with the total prize pool of $235,000, the organisers
said.
Poland has eased some novel coronavirus-related restrictions
nationwide, opening ski slopes as well as cinemas, hotels and
theatres up to 50% capacity, but authorities say the measures
may have to be rolled back as cases rise again.
"We take this (possible restrictions) into account and of course
it may happen, for example, that supporters will not be allowed
to take seats in tribunes... the tournament will be broadcast so
I hope this would compensate for the (potential) absence of
fans," Tomasz Swiatek added.
On Saturday, Iga Swiatek breezed past Swiss second seed Belinda
Bencic 6-2 6-2 in the Adelaide International final to claim the
second title of her career.
(Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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