Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova and former world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo head the field for the Australian Women's Hardcourt tennis championships beginning here on Sunday. Vaidisova, 18, burst on to the scene at the beginning of the year when she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams.
She made the last eight at both the French Open and Wimbledon in 2007 and broke into the top 10 for the first time, eventually finishing the year ranked 12th in the world. Vaidisova is the top seed for the tournament ahead of Russian duo Nadia Petrova and defending champion Dinara Safina.
Mauresmo arrived in Australia before Christmas in a bid to regain the form that saw her win the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006. The 28-year-old Frenchwoman has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in seven years, which prompted her to enter the lead-in tournaments to the 2008 Australian Open.
"I had a tough 2007 season and coming here as early as I did shows it's a big challenge I put to myself to be in the top five players again and try to win another Grand Slam," said Mauresmo, who is now ranked 18 in the world. While no top 10 players have entered, eight women ranked between 11 and 20 will play the first WTA tournament of 2008. Vaidisova, Petrova (14), Safina (15) and Mauresmo are joined in the field by Switzerland's Patty Schnyder (16), Shahar Peer of Israel (17), Austria's Sybille Bammer (19) and Hungary's Agnes Szavay (20).
Slovakia's Jarmila Gajdosova has been granted a wildcard to the tournament after winning a play-off among Australian players. Gajdosova, 20, has Australian residency and is now awaiting citizenship, which would allow her to represent Australia in the Fed Cup. This will be the last time the tournament is played on the Gold Coast. In 2009 it will be combined with the Australian Men's Hardcourt tournament and moved to a new tennis centre being built in Brisbane.