Dating back to the early days of women's professional tennis, Scandinavia has always played a central role, whether that came in the form of successful players or long-tenured tournaments.
Beginning in 1948, Sweden hosted a women's event for over 40 years until 1990, before the modern game returned to the region at the turn of the century.
From maiden titles for some of the game's best players, to a long-awaited victory for a home favorite, the mid-summer stop that started in Finland and ended in Sweden played host to numerous WTA memories.
A sweep in Finland: Svetlana Kuznetsova announces arrival
Having made her WTA main draw debut a year prior in Madrid, future Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova exploded onto the scene at the inaugural edition of the Nordic Light Open, held in Espoo, Finland in 2002.
Arriving in Finland's second-largest city ranked World No.123, a 17-year-old Kuznetsova successfully qualified without the loss of a set, and earned eight victories to win the title and break into the Top 100 for the first time.
En route, she rallied from a set down to beat World No. 24 Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, to earn her first win over a top 40 player, before defeating Denisa Chladkova in the final after being bageled in the opener, 0–6, 6–3, 7–6(2).
Hours later, Kuznetsova also brought home her second WTA doubles title, as she partnered Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain in a three-set victory over Spain's Eva Bes and María José Martínez Sánchez.
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Careers connected: Maiden titles for Wozniacki and Radwanska
After two years in Finland, the event enjoyed a five-year tenure in the Swedish capital, and two of the best players of the past decade got their starts in Scandinavia.
Both Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska capturing their first WTA singles titles when the event was held in Stockholm.
Radwanska arrived first and raised her first trophy in her breakthrough year in 2007, making her the first first Polish player to claim a WTA tour singles title with a victory over Russia's Vera Dushevina.
Seeded No.2, Radwanska did not drop a set en route to the title. Along the way, she defeated compatriot Marta Domachowska in the second round and Wozniacki in the quarterfinals - a 6-4, 6-1 result that the Dane reversed the next year in the semifinals by the same scoreline.
Wozniacki had a similarly-dominant run to her first title in 2008, and kicked off her victorious run with a 6-3, 6-4 over a then-unheralded German qualifier in the opening round: Angelique Kerber. She went on to beat Finland's Emma Laine and No.5 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues before dethroning top seed Radwanska.
For the second year running, Dushevina managed to win just two games in the championship match: having been defeated by Radwanska the prior year, 6-1, 6-1, the Russian fell to Wozniacki, 6-0, 6-2, to finish as the runner-up once more.
Ultimately going on to reach the top two spots in the WTA rankings and reach four Grand Slam finals between them, Wozniacki and Radwanska began their road from junior stars to professional threats in Sweden, and their reign at the top of the WTA continued for much of the next decade.
Their meetings in Stockholm were the first two of 17 overall matches the pair played in their all-time head-to-head in a rivalry that spanned a decade.
Back-to-back: Polona Hercog doubles up in Bastad
In 2009, the event relocated from the Swedish capital to the coastal resort city of Bastad and remained a tour-level event there for nine years.
The most prolific champion in this stretch was Slovenia's Polona Hercog, who not only was the only player to win the title more than once, but did so in back-to-back years of 2011 and 2012.
A former French Open junior champion in doubles, Hercog showcased her clay-court prowess a year prior to reach her first WTA final in Acapulco, Mexico, and gave Venus Williams all she could handle in a three-set defeat.
In the summer of 2011, Hercog arrived in Bastad ranked World No.53 and seeded No.8, and first ensured that the event would have a new winner when she dethroned defending champion Aravane Rezai in a dramatic second round, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4). Later on, she also earned a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory over No.7 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals before beating Sweden's Johanna Larsson in straight sets in the final.
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Unseeded the next year, Hercog knocked off No.2 seed Julia Goerges in straight sets in second round, rallied from set down against Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals, and beat No.7 seed Mona Barthel to return to the final. In the showpiece match, she was handed a first set bagel by France's Mathilde Johansson, before ultimately rallying for a 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 win.
How Swede it is: Larsson wins on third trip to final
Larsson gave the Swedish faithful something to cheer about in 2015, where, after a pair of runner-up finishes, she finally won her first career title on home soil.
After losing to Hercog in 2011, Larsson again reached the final in 2013 before being defeated by Serena Williams. Two years later in 2015, however, Larsson arrived in Bastad as the No.7 seed, and did not drop a set on the way to the title.
Facing off against No.4 seed and defending champion Mona Barthel, Larsson was a clear underdog, as the German had beaten her in straight sets in all three of their previous meetings. Nonetheless, Larsson had the upper hand in much of the 6-3, 7-6(2) victory, which included a dominant first set and a 5-0 lead in the second set tiebreak.
Larsson's victory brought a Swede back to the singles winner's circle for the first time in nearly 30 years, as the last Swede to win the tournament was Catharina Lindqvist in 1986.
