Nature Valley International Tennis: Exciting line-up for Eastbourne

The combined WTA Premier and ATP 250 tournament will take place from Friday (June 22 - 30) at Devonshire Park.

World No 1 Simona Halep and No 2 Caroline Wozniacki will be joined by defending champion Karolina Pliskova, reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No 8 Petra Kvitova.

A further six players from the world’s Top 20 including No 11 Julia Goerges, No 12 Angelique Kerber, No 13 Daria Kasatkina, No 18 Ash Barty, No 19 Magdalena Rybarikova and No 20 Anastasija Sevastova have also added their names to the star-studded line-up.

Goerges said she is excited to enter the Eastbourne field: “When you commit to playing at the Nature Valley International you know you’ll face a tough field. I’m already looking forward to what lies ahead for the grass court season.”

Barty added that she would be looking to build on her impressive grasscourt performances of 2017: “I reached the doubles final at Eastbourne last year after reaching the singles final and winning the doubles title in Birmingham, which was beyond my expectations. I’d really like to back that up with a strong singles campaign at the National Valley International this year.”

Meanwhile, two of the ATP’s Top 20 including tournament top seed Diego Schwartzman and British No 1 Kyle Edmund, will feature in the ATP draw, along with three of the sport’s most exciting prospects; 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov, 22-year-old Daniil Medvedev and 19-year-old Alex de Minaur. Former world No 3 David Ferrer is also set to appear. Check out the full entry list.

Tournament Director Gavin Fletcher said he’s delighted with the calibre of players who have committed to compete at Eastbourne in 2018: “We made a strong start to the field by securing the world No.2 Caroline Wozniacki, followed by world No 1 Simona Halep.

“Jelena Ostapenko is an exciting talent who’s already built an impressive track record, Petra Kvitova is on an 11-match streak after winning titles at Prague and Madrid, and Eastbourne was a rankings launch pad for Julia Goerges and Ash Barty in 2017, so it’s very pleasing that they’ve chosen to return to Devonshire Park along with our defending champion Karolina Pliskova.

“As both draws show, the Nature Valley International is attractive to established stars and emerging up-and-comers who want to test themselves against the strongest players in the world, and it’s exciting to give our fans the opportunity to see some of world’s top female players, and some of the sport’s most exciting prospects in action.

“Heather Watson, who reached the semi-finals here last year, has confirmed she’s coming back, so, with Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund also in the draw, local fans will have plenty to cheer about.”