Dubai: The 19th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge (AHTC) has attracted a strong field that includes at least three top-100 players on the WTA Tour joined by another three former champions.
World No. 44 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia will join two-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former WTA world No. 1 doubles player Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei as two of the top players who have confirmed their names for the annual AHTC that is held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
The latest players’ list was confirmed by Hani Al Khafief, Chief of Officials and Technical Operations for AHTC just after the deadline for withdrawal for the $100,000 tournament, late on Tuesday. The 19th AHTC is scheduled to take place at the habtoor Grand Resort Autograph Collection from December 12-18 with the qualifying rounds on December 10 and 11.
Earlier this year, Khalaf Al Habtoor, patron of the tournament announced that the event has been upgraded to a $100,000 competition with hospitality for players on the ITF Women’s Circuit.
Ostapenko and Su-Wei will be joined by defending champion Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey, 2013 winner Yana Cepelova and 2008 champion Vitalia Diatchenko. So far, no player has either successfully defended her title or won it more than once in Dubai.
“Arguably, this is the best-ever field we can hope for in the history of this tournament. The upgrade has worked wonders and I think the players who have confirmed to play deserve such a tournament that will be absolutely essential for them to prepare for the new season,” Al Khafief told Gulf News.
“We are already expecting some of the top players to be with us in the next few days, and we would urge residents to come and avail of a high standard of tennis during the course of this tournament,” the official added.
Another feature to note in the current field is that no player has won more than one singles crown at the $100,000 level during 2016. However, Elitsa Kostova, Rebecca Sramkova and Natalia Vikhlyantseva are all in the running for a second title this season to replicate feats they have achieved in Budapest, Biarritz and Saint Petersburg respectively.
The AHTC has traditionally attracted some of the top players with former world number one Jelena Jankovic, 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli and former world number four and three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Kimiko Date of Japan, who won here in 2012.
Ostapenko from Latvia had a career-high ranking of 34 in June this year, while the 30-year-old Su-Wei is well known for her exploits which saw the Taipei girl end at No. 25 in the singles and doubles in 2012. Last year, Su-Wei won three titles, all in neighbouring China, with honours in the $25,000 and $100,000 tournaments in Nanning followed by victory in the $25,000 Shenzhen tournament.
“We can be assured of a strong competition for title honours this year,” Al Khafief noted.
“We are ready with all preparations to host yet another exciting tournament that will see the stars of the future play right here in Dubai,” he added.