Jelena Jankovic has added one last tournament to her calendar before taking a break during the off-season.
The former world number one has booked the final singles berth into the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season will compete for the coveted Sony Ericsson Championships title and a share of the record $4.55 million prize money.
Jankovic completes an all-star line-up that features Dinara Safina, the top seed as a result of the Russian reclaiming the World No.1 ranking on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Monday, October 26, 2009, as well as Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
The doubles competition features Cara Black/Liezel Huber, Venus Williams/Serena Williams, Nuria Llagostera Vives/Maria José Martínez Sánchez and Rennae Stubbs/Samantha Stosur. Russia’s Vera Zvonareva and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska have been named as singles alternates and will also travel to Doha.
“I am really happy about making it to the Sony Ericsson Championships for the third time in my career,” said Jankovic. “It is always a nice feeling to end the season playing in the Championships as one of the best eight players in the world. I’m looking forward to returning to Doha and playing some great matches.”
On the heels of a breakthrough 2008 season, which she finished as the World No.1, Jankovic’s strong form toward the end of this year saw her draw ahead of her four closest rivals for the eighth qualifying position. She won a Premier Tour title at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open (Cincinnati), defeating Safina in the final for her career-first win over a reigning World No.1.
She also won the Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella) and reached the final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo), losing to Maria Sharapova. Jankovic is one of three players on Tour to hold the World No.1 ranking this season (along with Safina and Serena Williams).
Qualifying for the third time in her career, Jankovic has previously competed at the Championships in 2007 in the round-robin stage, and last year, when she advanced to the semifinals.
