Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic is the latest a-list player confirmed to compete at the Aegon Classic tennis tournament in Birmingham from 9th to 15th June.
Returning to the grass courts at Edgbaston Priory Club, the former world No.1 will compete alongside other top tennis names including Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic. As the current world No.7, Jankovic is the highest ranking player to be announced so far and the third player in the WTA’s top 20 singles confirmed to compete.
She has twice been a finalist at the Aegon Classic (in 2005 and 2012) and won the event in 2007, beating Maria Sharapova in a thrilling final, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Attracting a first-class player field, the Aegon Classic is not to be missed following its recent upgrade to a WTA Premier level event, making it one of the top 21 WTA events in the world. Jankovic has three times reached the semi-finals of WTA Premier events this year, progressing to the last four in Brisbane, Doha and Stuttgart.
Commenting on her announcement to compete in the prestigious tournament, Jankovic said: “I’m thrilled to be playing the Aegon Classic again this year. Birmingham’s a great city and I really enjoy playing on the grass there. I have particularly fond memories of playing at the Edgbaston Priory Club in 2007, as I won the title and then went on to win the mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jamie Murray. I know the player field will be as strong as ever, particularly as the tournament has been upgraded to WTA Premier status.”
Previously won by Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Maria Sharapova, the Aegon Classic is one of the world’s major grass court tournaments, taking place ahead of The Championships, Wimbledon.
David Macmillan, Chief Marketing Officer, Aegon UK, added: “Jelena has always been popular amongst tennis fans and it is great news that spectators at the Aegon Classic will be able to see one of the sport’s top stars in action. With big names such as Ana Ivanovic and Sabine Lisicki already confirmed, this year’s tournament looks set to be a great contest.”
Jankovic's announcement comes as a charity exhibition match has been revealed for the final day at the Aegon Classic on Sunday 15th June. The ‘Rally for Bally’ will see 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova, Anne Keothavong, Tim Henman and Jamie Murray compete in a mixed-doubles exhibition match to raise money for the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, after former British number one Elena Baltacha announced that she had been diagnosed with liver cancer earlier this year.