Ivanovic has an impressive grass court record having reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 2007.

The 20 year-old Serbian has played on the All England Lawn Tennis Club's hallowed turf for the last three years having also reached the third and fourth rounds respectively.

She will, however, be appearing at Eastbourne for the first time.

Ivanovic has a total of six WTA Tour titles to her name with one victory coming in 2008 at the Tier I event in Indian Wells. The remaining five titles came in Berlin, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Montreal and Canberra.

The right-hander is hunting for her first Grand Slam victory which looks likely to be just around the corner.

Ivanovic said, "Eastbourne is great preparation for Wimbledon. There's a very strong field this year including former Wimbledon champions Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport – so there will be lots of tough matches.

I really enjoy playing on grass having reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year.

"Eastbourne is a very enjoyable place to be and it's a good event to start my grass court season. Other players tell me that they always enjoy playing at Eastbourne.

The facilities are great and of course it's very close to London – which is good because most times we have to travel very far to the next event."

Gavin Fletcher, International Women's Open Tournament Director, said: "Ana is simply a world class player with a fantastic grass court pedigree. Ana is a crowd favourite wherever she goes and I'm sure she'll delight the fans in Eastbourne this summer.

"Along with Amelie (Mauresmo], Lindsay (Davenport] and Marion (Bartoli], Ana will help to make this tournament one of the best we've ever had."

In 2009, the men's ATP event currently held in Nottingham will be moved to Eastbourne's Devonshire Park to create a combined men's ATP and women's WTA event.

Tickets are currently on sale for the International Women's Open which takes place at Eastbourne's Devonshire Park and offers sports fans an opportunity to watch world class tennis.

Ticket information is available from the box office on 01323 412 000. The qualifying draw begins June 14 with main draw matches taking place between June 16-21.