Austrian Tamira Paszek seems to be taking the ASB Classic seriously as she has already arrived in Auckland to start practicing for the New Year’s Eve event.
In the past, the earliest that the players have arrived in New Zealand was two weeks before the ASB Classic, so fifth-seeded Paszek is about to break the record by about a week.
While it’s common for players to come to Australia two or three weeks prior to the first two tournaments, New Zealand had to wait a bit longer for the players to arrive. Richard Palmer, director of the ASB Classic, believes that if Paszek makes a good result at the tournament, other players will follow her example and arrive in New Zealand just as early.