The Taiwan Open was so, so much fun to watch. I was lucky to catch the end of the tournament because I was in Japan for most of it. I bought tickets for the last two days, the semifinals and the finals. The semifinals were on Saturday featuring two singles matches and two doubles matches for a spot in the finals, and the finals were on Sunday, featuring one singles match and one doubles match for the championship.

I met Sean, my friend from the TUSA scholarship, outside Taipei Arena an hour before the first match was scheduled to start. There was hardly anyone there that early, but we got to see Lucie Safarova warm up with her trainer from the second row, in the center of the baseline. The first match was two Taiwanese sisters, Hao-Ching and Yung-jan Chan, versus two Chinese players, Saisai Zheng and Chang Liu. The Taiwanese sisters were obviously the crowd favorite playing in their home country. They’re also ranked 13th in the world in doubles. I found it kind of funny that they listed them as being from “Chinese Taipei,” since Taiwan’s not officially recognized as a country, yet they called the tournament “Taiwan Open.” Anyway, the Chinese players gave them a tough match, and they went into a 10-point tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets. After losing the first set, the Taiwanese sisters prevailed 6-7, 6-2, 10-5. The doubles scoring was strange because they didn’t have advantages when it was deuce. Once it was 40-40, the next point was the deciding point for the game. After doing some research, I learned that the ATP and WTA use this “no-ad” system on tours for doubles matches to speed up the game. I had actually never seen it before, but then again, I don’t typically watch a lot of doubles. I found the doubles matches to be more fast-paced and explosive than the singles matches because with more people on the court, there was more offense at the net.

Soon, Lucie Safarova from the Czech Republic and Shuai Peng from China came out for the first singles match of the day. Many people had signs supporting Safarova that said “Happy Birthday,” because it was her 30th birthday. They warmed up and began the match, slightly later than scheduled because the first match had gone on for so long. Peng had steady, consistent shots, out-defending Safarova— the more powerful and higher ranked player. Peng won fairly handily at 6-4, 6-2. It was really cool to see the professional players in-person, and with such good seats. Some of their shots were so subtly masterful that you just couldn’t appreciate them the same way on TV. From our seats, we could see the topspin, the shots that seemed to curve in and just clip the line, and the ones that landed so perfectly in the corner that you questioned if what you just saw was real. Fans gasped in their seats through dramatic, long rallies. It was fun to gasp and cheer, and feel part of the match, more so than just watching on a screen.

The next match was another singles match, Elina Svitolina from Ukraine versus Mandy Minella from Luxembourg. Svitolina is ranked 13th in the world in singles, is the youngest player in the top 25, and has wins against former world number one players Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber. She’s an impressive up-and-comer, who has ascended the rankings in seemingly no time. Svitolina liked to stay loose, so she was always jumping up and down, bouncing left and right, and swatting her racket to keep moving in between game play. Svitolina quickly proved she was more consistent than Minella, despite Minella having some powerful winners. Svitolina won and earned her spot in the finals, the final score 6-3, 6-2.

The final match of the day was another doubles match, Kai-lin Zhang from China and Nao Hibino from Japan versus Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic. Hradecka is a seasoned doubles player with 21 WTA doubles titles and ranked 18th in the world in doubles. Siniakova is ranked 30th in doubles. Despite this only being their third tournament as partners and losing in the first round at the previous two tournaments, the Czech players defeated the China-Japan duo 6-3, 6-4 to earn a spot in the finals against the Taiwanese sisters.

The next day was more crowded with it being the last day of the tournament, although it was still easy to get great seats. I met George outside the stadium and we got seats behind the center of the baseline, almost exactly where I sat the day before. Svitolina and Peng walked onto the court to duel it out for the championship. Peng broke early, but soon it was clear that she was fading. Svitolina’s faster, more powerful serve produced ace after ace, and her defensive strategy wasn’t holding well against such a commanding player. Svitolina took the match and the title 6-3, 6-2. Svitolina was given a bouquet of flowers and a red vase trophy in a ceremony after the match. She gave a short speech thanking everyone in English, managing to say ni hao (hello) and xie xie (thank you) in Mandarin, which got a few laughs. Svitolina and Peng took photos with their atypical trophy vases and bouquets of flowers, and soon the doubles players took the stage.

The Chan sisters versus the Czech duo was a very exciting match, although the Taiwanese pair stood strong, fracturing the momentum of the Czechs. Siniakova lost her temper a few times, muttering to her box in a flustered way, throwing her racket on the ground, and at times shoving the ball to the ball kids. Hradecka seemed to keep it cool and even laugh at her anger a few times. The Chan sisters defended the title, finishing the match at 6-4, 6-2, and garnering a huge round of applause. Again, both pairs were handed modern-looking vases and bouquets, took photos with the ball kids, gave short speeches, and waved goodbye to the crowd.

George and I took advantage of the half price hoodies at the shop and each bought one. I also got a Taiwan Open tennis ball key chain, and a Taiwan Open towel. It was a great two days of tennis, and I’m so glad that I bought tickets. It’s always special to see professional athletes compete in the sport they’ve spent their whole life mastering. To watch these talented players from the second row was an unforgettable experience. I hope I can make it to all of the grand slams one day. While flying to Australia this year would have been really cool, it was also pretty cool to ride the MRT just 30 minutes and see a pro tennis tournament. I’ve never had the luxury of seeing a pro tournament in the city I live in (they don’t come to Cleveland very often). Here’s to trips to England, France, and Australia in the future!