Doha: Former Wimbledon winner Martina Hingis of Switzerland will play in the doubles event of this year’s Qatar Open, organisers of the event confirmed here yesterday.
Besides Hingis, another former Grand Slam winner who will headline the event is former French Open winner Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Schiavone will be vying for a place in the main draw and will be seen in action in the qualifying round which will be held tomorrow at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Hingis, who has five singles and nine Grand Slams against her name, has previously won the singles and the doubles title at the Qatar Open.
The qualifying draw includes many talented players from all over the world such as talented Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic, who is already ranked in the world’s top 40 players. Britain’s Heather Watson is also in the draw along with Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, who has previously reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Other players to watch out for include German Julia Goerges and Russian Elena Vesnina.
Three is also a couple of players from ‘Downunder’ in the form of Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova and Kiwi Marina Erakovic.
Representing the Gulf region will be Fatima Al Nabhani form Oman who will play in singles qualifying and doubles main draw.
The main draw matches will be played from February 23-28. Tickets are now available at City Center, Landmark, Lagoona, Villaggio, on-site and from www.qatartennis.org.
The Peninsula
