Paris Olympics silver medallist Donna Vekic, defending champion Linda Fruhvirtova and former Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette were the marquee names in the entry list released on Friday for this year’s Chennai Open.
The WTA 250 event, returning to India after three years, will be held from October 27 to November 2 at the SDAT Stadium. In 2022, Czechia’s Fruhvirtova, then a teenager, had beaten Linette 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win her maiden and so far, the only Tour-level title.
The upcoming edition takes place in the Centenary year of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA).
Two other WTA 250 events in Hong Kong and Jiangxi, China, will take place during the same week. The season-ending WTA Finals begin from November 1 in Riyadh, which could be the reason behind the absence of any Top 10 player from the field in Chennai.
READ | Vijay Amritraj hopes to pull off hosting WTA 250 Chennai Open without hiccups
The entry list included eight Top 100 players – Poland’s Linette (World No. 38), Germany’s Tatjana Maria (World No. 44), Croatia’s Vekic (World No. 69), Britain’s Francesca Jones (World No. 72), Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti (World No. 73), Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez (World No. 82), Australia’s Kimberly Birrell (World No. 85) and Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean (World No. 93).
Maria and Vekic are former Wimbledon semifinalists. Bronzetti was a member of the Italian squad which recently defended its title at the Billie Jean King Cup.
Indian representation in the main draw will be confirmed later. Players likely to be in the fray are Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and the Coimbatore teen sensation Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi.
The 32-player main draw for singles will also have four wild cards, four qualifiers and one special exempt. The doubles draw will comprise 16 pairs – 14 direct and two wild cards.
The wild cards will be announced closer to the event.
The singles winner will receive INR 31.5 lakh while the doubles champions will get INR 11.48 lakh in prize money.
Main Draw Entry List along with their rankings
1. Magda Linette (Poland) – 38
2. Tatjana Maria (Germany) – 44
3. Donna Vekic (Croatia) – 69
4. Francesca Jones (Britain) – 72
5. Lucia Bronzetti (Italy) – 73
6. Zeynep Sonmez (Turkiye) – 82
7. Kimberly Birrell (Australia) – 85
8. Leolia Jeanjean (France) – 93
9. Diane Parry (France) – 101
10. Janice Tjen (Indonesia) – 102
11. Elina Avanesyan (Armenia) – 103
12. Darja Semenistaja (Latvia) – 104
13. Storm Hunter (Australia) – 114
14. Katarzyna Kawa (Poland) – 124
15. Joanna Garland (Chinese Taipei) – 134
16. Linda Fruhvirtova (Czechia) – 140
17. Alina Charaeva (Russia) – 142
18. Nikola Bartunkova (Czechia) – 144
19. Astra Sharma (Australia) – 145
20. Lulu Sun (New Zealand) – 146
21. Lucrezia Stefanini (Italy) – 149
22. Nina Stojanovic (Serbia) – 157
23. Maria Timofeeva (Russia) – 161
Published on Oct 03, 2025