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Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia in action against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during their second round match at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia. Image Credit: EPA

Dubai: Six players ranked among the top 100 women in the world have confirmed they will compete in the 17th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge at Dubai’s Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa next month.

The deadline for withdrawals was Tuesday night and defending champion Jana Cepelova of Slovakia has now been officially confirmed as the top seed for the singles competition in the $75,000 (Dh275,000) ITF Women’s Circuit tournament, which will be held from November 10 to 15.

The top-100 players taking part are second seed Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium, Germans Anna-Lena Friedsam and Carina Witthoeft, Tereza Smitkova of the Czech Republic and Zheng Saisai of China.

Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, ranked 101, will be the seventh seed and 2008 champion and world No. 105 Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia will be eighth.

Also in action will be Japanese former champion Kimiko Date-Krumm and her compatriot Misaki Doi, as well as former runner-up Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan and Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania.

“The draw is much stronger than last year for sure. We have a few former champions and a lot of strong players coming to Dubai to start their preparations for the new season,” Hani Al Khafief, ITF Supervisor, told Gulf News.

“This year we have a range of upgraded facilities for the players and fans, so I would extend a warm invitation to all tennis spectators to come and enjoy some top-level women’s tennis free of cost.”

Former world number seven Nicole Vaidisova has requested one of the four wild cards on offer, which are at the discretion of tournament sponsor Khalaf Al Habtoor. Vaidisova retired in 2010 but started her comeback on the tour in September and is looking at a serious start to 2015.

The tournament is held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, with support from Tennis Emirates.

The qualifying round begins on November 8 and the main competition will start on November 10, with both the singles and doubles finals scheduled for November 15.