WTA: Tokyo, Wuhan, Beijing: Angelique Kerber and her Asian Weeks

Angelique Kerber enters the home stretch of her impressive season: For the Wimbledon winner, the Asian Weeks are just around the corner.

The youngest member of the extended “Team Angie” seems to be a real sunshine. 45.5 centimetres tall, weighing 2690 grams – and already in a good mood. Immediately after his birth, Louis Fissette, the new man from the earth, gave the impression with a tender smile that he was looking forward without exception to everything that might come to him in this big wide world.

Baby Louis, born last Wednesday, is the youngest son of Wim Fissette. But the little one will soon have to do without his dad, because for Fissette protégé Kerber the Asian weeks will start in a few days. A triple header – so to speak.

The routes are: Tokyo (from 17 September/Premier), Wuhan (from 24 September/Premier5), Beijing (from 1 October/Premier Mandatory).

And from October 21, the last and final highlight of the year will follow with a little time lag: The WTA final of the best eight players 2018 in Singapore, endowed with seven million dollars. Kerber is already qualified as the second player after industry leader Simona Halep (Romania). For the fifth time in total.

The 30-year-old prepared for the last four tournaments of her season after her third round finish at the US Open with a little relaxation under the sun. Angie”, a formidable swimmer since her earliest youth, also cut a good figure in Stand Up Paddling.

In the final spurt, Kerber is now focusing once again on the Asian tour after fulfilling her childhood dream in Wimbledon in mid-July. To join forces again, to put it all back together again – and to start a mission again.

Not an easy task, “but I know what it’s like. This is not a new situation for me,” said the number three of the WTA ranking recently.

In Tokyo, she has a 2017 semi-final to defend, but especially in Wuhan (first-round out) and Beijing (second-round out), the chances of scoring more points are good. World number two Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark/5975 points) is only 550 points ahead of Kerber (5425). The leading Halep (8061) is still sitting relatively securely on the throne. By 2016 the Kieler had ended the year as number one.

Apart from Kerber, only Caroline Garcia (France), the 2017 Wuhan and Beijing winner, as well as US Open Champion Naomi Osaka (Japan), Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) and Sloane Stephens (USA) will play the triple header Tokyo/Wuhan/Peking.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Julia Görges, the world’s number eleven, has signed up for Wuhan and Beijing respectively and is still hoping to qualify for the WTA final.