The 2009 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand will feature a talented field of established and rising stars in professional women’s tennis.
The $220,000 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament announced its official player list on Wednesday.
“The 2009 ASB Classic field has plenty of variety with a lot of strength at the top, a lot of players who are at their career-high rankings and a number of exciting young players,” said ASB Classic tournament director Brenda Perry in a statement released by the tournament.
Russian Elena Dementieva, the reigning Olympic champion, will headline the tournament as the top seed, followed by her countrywoman Nadia Petrova. Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki is at her best ranking of No. 12 and will be seeded third.
At a career-high of No. 20 is the 2005 champion and this year’s fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik from Slovenia, who will also team up with Petrova to make a formidable team in the Kia Motors doubles.
The remaining seeds are expected to be Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues, Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, Israel’s Shahar Peer, and former Top 10 star Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic.
The ASB Classic will also feature on-court coaching for the first time as part of an initiative on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The tournament will once again offer audio and video podcasting as well as live scoring.
The ASB Classic featuring the Kia Motors Singles and Doubles will be played at the ASB Tennis Centre January 5-10, with qualifying January 3-4. For more information, please visit www.asbclassic.co.nz.
As a Dane I must protest against you making our Caroline Dutch – she isn’t.
Steen – thank you for pointing out that error! The article has been corrected.
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