Mumbai: Players from 31 countries will take part in the Mumbai Open Tennis Championship to be held here from February 5 to 11 following a gap of six years.
The tournament will be played at the newly-laid tennis courts at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium), which is organising the event along with the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).
The third edition of the Mumbai Open will feature three top 100 players in the singles and six top 100 players in the doubles event, which is a part of the WTA USD 125K series.
The qualifying matches will be played on February 3 and 4 whereas the main draw will start from February 5.
Kayla Day of the US, who won the 2016 US Open girls singles and currently world No 82, will lead the 32-player field, along with Japan’s Nao Hibino, who is the winner of three WTA Tour singles titles.
The former French Open semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek, ranked 97th, is the third player from top 100 in the singles.
Ankita Raina is the only Indian confirmed in the singles main draw.
India’s top-ranked doubles player Prarthana Thombare and her Dutch partner Arianne Hartono have a direct entry into the doubles event.
The wild cards for the tournament are expected to be announced soon.
“The WTA Mumbai Open has attracted some big names and rising stars in the past, including two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who won her first WTA USD125K title right here in Mumbai in 2017,” said members of the organisin committee Sanjay Khandare and Pravin Darade in a statement.
Sabalenka had won the first edition of Mumbai Open in 2017 while Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum won the next in 2018.
