Brisbane, Auckland kick-off WTA 2010 Season

The WTA 2010 season kicked-off with the start of two international-level tournaments – the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, and the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Both tournaments are used by players to warm-up for the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open in Melbourne. The Brisbane tournament is played in hard, plexicushion surface while the ASB Classic uses hard, rebound ace surface – the surface used for the Australian Open. Both tournaments offer a top prize of $37,000 to the singles winner, and $19,000 to the singles runner-up. Being in the same level, winners at both tournaments will earn 280 ranking points while 200 points will be awarded to the runner-up.

Due to very few tune-up tournaments at the start of the year, both draws feature top-notch players not normally seen in other tournaments of the same level. The ASB classic has attracted 5 top 20 players including world #12, Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Asian #1 and world #15 Na Li of China. Third seed and world #16 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium was granted a wildcard to play in the tournament. Wickmayer was previously banned for competing due to non-compliance to drug test procedures, but her ban was recently lifted by a Belgian court and the ITF.

The Brisbane tournament meanwhile may have fewer top 30 players in the field but it boasts of 3 former #1 players in Kim Clijsters (world #18), Ana Ivanovic (world #21), and the Justine Henin who is playing her first official tournament in the WTA circuit in Brisbane. Henin last competed in a WTA sanctioned tournament in May 2008. She was drawn to play second seed and world #20 Nadia Petrova of Russia in the first round. Henin beat Petrova in straight sets in an exhibition match in Egypt last month.