Hobart International announces Strongest Ever Field

The Hobart International will boast the strongest player field in the tournament’s history, with 10 of the world’s top 50 players signing on for the event, organisers announced today.

Headlined by one of the biggest names in sport – Serena Williams – in addition to world No.13 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia and defending champion Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands, the Hobart International will be staged from Friday 5 – Friday 12 January 2007 at the Domain Tennis Centre.

Tournament Director Michael Roberts said, “I’m thrilled to announce the strongest field in the tournament’s history, with 10 of the world’s top 50 players heading to Hobart.

“The momentum leading into the 2007 event has been really incredible. In addition to prizemoney being lifted to its highest ever mark of US$170,000, and a A$800,000 facilities upgrade, the announcements that Serena Williams and world No.13 Anna Chakvetadze will headline the player field have resulted in record ticket sales.

“We have all the semifinalists from this year’s event returning and many of the players achieved their career-best ranking during 2006. There are going to be great match-ups from the first day.

“The event has attracted media interest from Australia and all around the world, and we have international coverage secured in the Asia/Pacific and Russia,” Roberts said.

The announcement that seven-time Grand Slam singles winner Serena Williams would compete for the first time in Hobart has resulted in ticket sales for the event reaching record levels. The American, aged 25, has won singles titles at all four of the majors and accumulated more than US$16 million in prizemoney. Williams has traditionally played well in Australia, being a two-time winner at Melbourne Park in 2003 and 2005, and will be looking for some solid performances at Hobart to take her into the opening Grand Slam of the year.

The highest-ranked player to have competed at the Hobart International will be Anna Chakvetadze. The 19-year-old Russian has quickly risen up the world rankings during the last couple of years, culminating in her victory at the prestigious Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October. On her way to the title, the Russian achieved impressive victories against three top 10 players: Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova in the final.

Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek (ranked No.35 in the world) will be back to defend the title she won in January with the loss of only one set from five matches. The 17-year-old had a very successful year, winning another title in s’Hertogenbosch and reaching the semifinals at Istanbul, Budapest, Stuttgart and Hasselt. She also scored victories over top 15 players Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic.

A finalist at Hobart in 2002, Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues (27) is the second highest ranked woman to enter the tournament. Medina Garrigues won two titles in 2006, taking out Canberra and Palermo, and making the last four at Strasbourg.

Former world No.6 and Hobart champion Chanda Rubin (special injury ranking 29) will be looking to start the year on a winning note after an injury-plagued year in 2006. The American has finished inside the world’s top 15 on five occasions and has reached an Australian Open semifinal and three quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

Hard-hitting left-hander Lucie Safarova last competed in qualifying at Hobart in 2005 as a 17-year-old ranked 196 in the world, but will return in 2007 as world No. 42 with three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles to her name.

Only seven players have managed to defeat world No.2 Maria Sharapova in 2006, and one of those is Jamea Jackson (45). The American was a finalist at Birmingham in June, defeating Sharapova in straight sets in the semifinals. Currently sitting on a career-best ranking, Jackson reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo and the third round at Miami, and represented the United States in Fed Cup.

A superstar in her native India, Sania Mirza (66) will be competing at Hobart for the second time. Mirza had a breakthrough year on the WTA Tour in 2005 when she became the first Indian woman to break into the top 50 and reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the US Open. This year she captured two doubles titles at Bangalore and Kolkata, and in singles reached the semifinals at Kolkata and the quarterfinals at four events, including Seoul, where she defeated Martina Hingis in three sets.

Popular Night Sessions to Continue

The popular night sessions at the Hobart International will continue at the 2007 tournament. Night sessions will be played from Monday 8 – Friday 12 January with the singles and doubles finals once again being held on the Friday night. All sessions start at 7.00pm.

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