WTA: Maria Sharapova begins 2019 in Shenzhen

While the WTA Premier Tournament in Brisbane will feature some of the best players of 2018, the event in Shenzhen will also feature big names.

Maria Sharapova may only have finished the tennis year 2018 at position 29 – at the ticket counter the Russian is still one of the big attractions on the WTA tour. The event in Shenzhen, China, will benefit from this right at the beginning of the year. There, the five-time major winner will begin her campaign back to the top of the world.

Against strong, but not overpowering competition: While players like WTA World Champion Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova or Naomi Osaka are fighting for the title at the same time in Brisbane, Shenzhen has only named another major winner: Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian also had a rather bad year 2018 behind her – after her sensational success at the French Open last year, Ostapenko only reached 22nd place in the current annual ranking.

The top trio is completed by Caroline Garcia. The French player was also unable to confirm her 2017 performances when she reached the WTA final in Singapore, but still finished the tennis year number 19.