The organisers of the Brisbane International Open have confirmed that seven Grand Slam champions will play in the 2016 tournament.
The tournament will begin on January 3rd at the Queensland Tennis Centre featuring both women’s and men’s draws for the eighth consecutive year. The tournament is categorised as an ATP 250 event for the men and a Premier event for women.
Headlining the men’s event will be defending champion Roger Federer. The 34-year-old defeated Milos Raonic to claim the title last year. The Swiss will be one of eight top 20 players participating in the men’s draw. Other entrants include Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic. 37-year-old Radek Stepanek will also participate in the tournament. The Czech won the tournament in 2009.
The women’s tournament will see three out of the top four battling it out in a sensational draw. World No.2 Simona Halep headlines the field followed by Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova. Sharapova is the defending champion after defeating Ana Ivanovic in three sets in the 2015 final. There are eight top 15 players confirmed for the draw which also include Carla Suarez Navarro, Belinda Bencic and Roberta Vinci. It may be the last time Vinci will play in Brisbane after the Italian recently confirmed that 2016 will most likely be her final year on the tour before retiring.
Tournament director, Cameron Pearson, has spoken about his delight of having the world class field for his event.
“We’re really excited by the strength of both the men’s and women’s draws and counting down to what should be a fantastic week of tennis,” he said.
“We’re thrilled to welcome our two defending champions back to Brisbane, who will both have a real fight on their hands to win back-to-back titles. Every year the tournament increases in profile and the calibre of the 2016 field is certainly testament to the players’ regard for the event”.
The tournament has been hosted in Brisbane since 2009. Prior to 2009 the two draws were separate with the men playing in Adelaide and the women playing in the Gold Coast.
Full list of entrants (via brisbaneinternational.com.au)
Men
Roger Federer (SUI)* – No.3
Kei Nishikori (JPN) – No.8
Marin Cilic (CRO)* – No.13
Milos Raonic (CAN) – No.14
Gilles Simon (FRA) – No.15
David Goffin (BEL) – No.16
Bernard Tomic (AUS) – No.18
Dominic Thiem (AUT) – No.20
Viktor Troicki (SRB) – No.22
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) – No.28
Steve Johnson (USA) – No.32
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) – No.37
Hyeon Chung (KOR) – No.51
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) – No.57
Radek Stepanek (CZE) – No.57**
Sam Querrey (USA) – No.59
Sam Groth (Vic) – No.60
Denis Istomin (UZB) – No.61
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) – No.65
Denis Kudla (USA) – No.69
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) – No.71
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) – No.78
Women
Simona Halep (ROU) – No.2
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) – No.3
Maria Sharapova (RUS)* – No.4
Angelique Kerber (GER) – No.10
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) – No.12
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) – No.13
Belinda Bencic (SUI) – No.14
Roberta Vinci (ITA) – No.15
Sara Errani (ITA) – No.20
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) – No.21
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)* – No.22
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) – No.23
Andrea Petkovic (GER) – No.24
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) – No.26
Sam Stosur (Qld)* – No.27
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) – No.28
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) – No.29
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) – No.33
Camila Giorgi (ITA) – No.35
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) – No.38
Madison Brengle (USA) – No.40
Alize Cornet (FRA) – No.42
*denotes Grand Slam champion
**denotes injury-protected ranking
