Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina lead Abu Dhabi entry list

For the first time, the WTA Tour will visit Abu Dhabi between January 5-13, with Zayed Sports City center gathering some of the world's leading players.

Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova should headline the WTA 500 field, ready to chase the season's first title and embrace competitive encounters ahead of the first Major of the season that starts in Melbourne on February 8. Johanna Konta, Garbine Muguruza, Elena Rybakina, Elise Mertens and Marketa Vondrousova are on the entry list too, with exciting matches coming right from the opening round. Abu Dhabi is the only WTA event scheduled in January, with two more WTA 500 tournaments planned for Melbourne in the week before the Australian Open.

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"Our only sponsor right now is WTA. The tournament is not played for commercial reasons but to offer players jobs. The WTA has been very considerate, and they're thinking a lot about the players. The ladies who rely on this for their income haven't had jobs for a long time. This is a 500-level tournament with a 64-player draw because we wanted more players to play and get some money.

Abu Dhabi Sports Council has provided massive support; they're supporting us in a big way, with the venue and visas, allowing exceptions for players to come and play. Without them, this couldn't have happened. It is truly fantastic to be hosting this event as an inspiration for all junior tennis players in Abu Dhabi. It will be an especially great experience for the ball kids who will support 64 of the world's best players.

The WTA calendar is pretty full on a normal year, and we've been lucky to have this. Of course, we want to; I do want to have an event in Abu Dhabi, but I'm not sure whether we can get it. It's a long way away, and we still have to survive 2021 with all the problems we have in the world," Bharat Godkhindi said.

WTA Abu Dhabi Entry List: 

1. KENIN, SOFIA (USA) 4
2. SVITOLINA, ELINA (UKR) 5
3. PLISKOVA, KAROLINA (CZE) 6
4. SABALENKA, ARYNA (BLR) 10
5. MUGURUZA, GARBIÑE (ESP) 15
6. RYBAKINA, ELENA (KAZ) 19
7. MERTENS, ELISE (BEL) 20
8. VONDROUSOVA, MARKETA (CZE) 21
9. SAKKARI, MARIA (GRE) 22
10. KONTAVEIT, ANETT (EST) 23
11. BRADY, JENNIFER (USA) 24
12. MUCHOVA, KAROLINA (CZE) 27
13. PUTINTSEVA, YULIA (KAZ) 28
14. ANISIMOVA, AMANDA (USA) 30
15. JABEUR, ONS (TUN) 31
16. VEKIC, DONNA (CRO) 32
17. ALEXANDROVA, EKATERINA (RUS) 33
18. WANG, QIANG (CHN) 34
19. KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA (RUS) 36
20. PAVLYUCHENKOVA, ANASTASIA (RUS) 38
21. FERRO, FIONA (FRA) 42
22. GARCIA, CAROLINE (FRA) 43
23. OSTAPENKO, JELENA (LAT) 44
24. KUDERMETOVA, VERONIKA (RUS) 46
25. PODOROSKA, NADIA (ARG) 47
26. SHVEDOVA, YAROSLAVA (KAZ) 47 SR
27. GAUFF, CORI (USA) 48
28. HERCOG, POLONA (SLO) 49
29. MLADENOVIC, KRISTINA (FRA) 50
30. SIEGEMUND, LAURA (GER) 51
31. CORNET, ALIZÉ (FRA) 53
32. SEVASTOVA, ANASTASIJA (LAT) 54
33. TIG, PATRICIA MARIA (ROU) 56
34. WATSON, HEATHER (GBR) 58
35. SINIAKOVA, KATERINA (CZE) 59
36. BLINKOVA, ANNA (RUS) 61
37. PERA, BERNARDA (USA) 62
38. PEGULA, JESSICA (USA) 63
39. VAN UYTVANCK, ALISON (BEL) 64
40. KREJCIKOVA, BARBORA (CZE) 65
41. SORRIBES TORMO, SARA (ESP) 66
42. HSIEH, SU-WEI (TPE) 67
43. TOMLJANOVIC, AJLA (AUS) 68
44. BADOSA, PAULA (ESP) 70
45. CIRSTEA, SORANA (ROU) 71
46. KASATKINA, DARIA (RUS) 72
47. RUS, ARANTXA (NED) 74
48. ZHU, LIN (CHN) 74 SR

1. TREVISAN, MARTINA (ITA) 85
2. FLIPKENS, KIRSTEN (BEL) 86