Kristina Mladenovic to come back even stronger for 2017 Prudential Hong Kong Open

Kristina Mladenovic will return to this year’s Prudential Hong Kong Open ready for another crack at the women’s tennis title she narrowly lost at Victoria Park in 2016.

The 24-year-old Frenchwoman has been confirmed for the Hong Kong tournament from October 9-15 and will no doubt return a stronger player having enjoyed considerable success since losing to Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 in last year’s Hong Kong final.

Also confirmed for the October extravaganza were China’s Zhang Shuai and Taiwanese doubles pair Chan Yung-jan and Chan Hao-ching, who won the 2016 Hong Kong Open doubles title.

Mladenovic will make a welcome reappearance to the tournament having risen prominently as a French Open quarter-finalist this year.

She won her maiden singles title at St Petersburg and has beaten the likes of Venus Williams, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Maria Sharapova, and Garbine Muguruza this year alone.

The French number one and world number 13 was also a semi-finalist at Indian Wells.

She was impeded by a thigh injury against Wozniacki in last year’s Hong Kong Open final, where she put up a battling performance.

Caroline Wozniacki downs hobbling Kristina Mladenovic to win Hong Kong Tennis Open title

“We are extremely pleased to be able to unveil part of the star-studded field we have assembled for the tournament. The event has enjoyed tremendous growth in popularity over the past four years and the big-name players we are able to attract reaffirms our conviction,” said tournament director Chris Lai.

“We continue to seek to bring the best players in the women’s game to Hong Kong and we will announce at the end of this month a number of other marquee players as well.”

Chinese number two Zhang, who is ranked number 29 in the world, reached the quarter-finals in Doha, as well as the third round of the Miami Open and Roland Garros.

She will be making a highly-anticipated debut at Victoria Park. Last month, she returned to the mainland to help Tianjin win their third straight gold medal in the women’s team event at the National Games.

Tickets for the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2017 are on sale at Cityline and Tom Lee Music outlets. Tennis fans can take advantage of an early bird discount of 10% that is now available until the end of August.