Former top-ranked Jelena Jankovic has joined a number of WTA stars who have signed up for the inaugural Tianjin Open which takes place in October.
The WTA International event has been added as one of the WTA’s Asian swing of tournaments. The field includes Daniela Hantuchova, Martina Hingis, Zhang Shuai and Peng Shuai.
Jankovic made a triumphant return in the world’s top ten following a strong finish in the 2013 season. She carried her strong form this season with runner-up finish in Bogota and reaching the semifinals in Brisbane, Doha, Stuttgart and Rome – all Premier or Premier Mandatory events.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in Tianjin this year,” Jankovic said. “It’s always exciting when a new tournament is added to the calendar because it means we get to visit somewhere different.
“I always love going to China and have had a lot of success there in the past so it will be great to visit a new city. I believe Tianjin is ready for us.”
The Tianjin International Tennis Center will be the location of the event which takes place from October 6 to 12. This is the sixth and final stop of the WTA
The tournament, which will be held at Tianjin International Tennis Center from October 6-12, is the sixth and final stop-off in China on the WTA calendar, following on from the China Open, in Beijing.
“The tournament is delighted to welcome such a stellar playing field to the city of Tianjin,” Tournament Director Tony Cho said. “With Jelena as our Top 10 player we have secured someone who is not only one of the best players on the planet, but who also very popular with the Chinese fans.
“Zhang Shuai has had great success of late and will no doubt look forward to playing in front of her home-crowd, while Peng Shuai continues her strong play having recently won the doubles title at Roland Garros and is currently part of the No. 1 doubles team in the world. Hantuchova and Hingis are both outstanding names in women’s tennis and also have a very large following of fans in China.”
