ISTANBUL, Turkey - Come along to the Istanbul Cup with Turkish tennis pioneer Ipek Senoglu, one of the favorites for this week's doubles title.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Merhaba to all of you... This is how we say hi in Turkish!

I will be writing the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Blog for you guys from my hometown of Istanbul during the Istanbul Cup this week.

When the Istanbul Cup was to be organized for the first time in 2005, many of my professional tennis colleagues asked me such questions as "Is it safe to come to Turkey?" or "Do you think the tournament will be okay to play?"

We are in 2010 now and the draw contains this year's Roland Garros champion Schiavone and Wimbledon semifinalists Pironkova and Kvitova. Five years later, players are asking me new places to visit since they have seen the Grand Bazaar already. Most even compare some restaurants to others :)

We had the opening ceremony yesterday in Topkapi Palace, which was constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror) in 1478 and has been the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans and center of State Administration for around 380 years. I've included a pic of us from that ceremony (see the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's CEO Stacey Allaster in traditional Turkish dress!)

I'll try to keep you guys updated everyday!

Ipek