JAWARIAH Noordin and Choo Lyn Yuen will represent the country in the WTA Tour BMW Malaysian Open.
They earned the tournament’s two local wild cards after finishing first and second in a five-day round-robin trial, which ended yesterday, at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Kuala Lumpur.
It will be Jawariah’s second appearance in the tournament following her first round exit in the qualifiers at the inaugural event two years ago. She did not play in last year’s edition.
As for Lyn Yuen, the 16-year-old will be making her first ever appearance in a high-level WTA tournament.
The third edition of the Malaysian Open is scheduled from Feb 27-March 4 at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Club.
Jawariah defeated Adele Boey (6-0, 6-0), Alyssa Boey (6-2, 6-2), Yus Syazlin (6-4, 6-4), Nurin Nabila (walkover), Lyn Yuen (7-6, 6-4) and Aslina Chua (6-2, 6-1). The 22-year-old, however, conceded a walkover to Ti Jia Wei on the final day but topped the standings.
“I felt unwell and subsequently withdrew from today’s (yesterday) match. I am happy to earn a wild card but it will be tough for me as I have not played a tour event since 2010,” said Jawariah at NTC yesterday.
“I have started training fulltime in Penang in December and I hope to re-start my WTA career this season through the assistance of the National Sports Council (NSC).“
Jawairiah said:”I am aware that it is a little late to make a career out of the sport at 22 but I am willing to take the risk before retiring in five years time.
“My idol is China’s Li Na and I hope to emulate her one day. As for preparing for the Malaysian Open, I will train under my dad (Noordin Omar) in Penang.
Lyn Yuen, who won the singles and doubles titles at the 2010 Brunei ITF Junior Championships, said she will train hard for the tournament.
“I was not expecting anything as I only played in the trial for experience. It is good motivation to finish second in it, as all the best players were competing for the wild card slots,” said the Kuching-based player.
The Malaysian Open will gather some of the top draws in the women’s game and among the confirmed players are the United States’ former Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, France’s World No 9 Marion Bartoli, China’s Asian No 2 Shuai Peng and Japan’s Ayumi Morita.
