While the beleaguered International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) have been going through a rough year in its third staging, with the format being reduced from five to three cities, and with tennis superstars Serena Williams and Roger Federer having to pullout of the tournament, they received some good news recently as Ana Ivanovic joined the UAE Royals in the Singapore leg of the competitions.
“It’s lovely to be back in Singapore. I have really nice memories from here, especially from 2014,” Ana Ivanovic said in a statement released by the IPTL. The Serbian beauty is competing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the IPTL’s second leg venue this week.
As noted by the release, the former world number one and 2014 WTA finalist, who missed the IPTL’s first leg in Japan, joined fellow former world number one and UAE Royals teammate Martina Hingis, who was previously the lone woman on the team. Ana Ivanovic has had a long break from the sport following a nagging wrist injury that had her cut short her 2016 season following the U.S. Open. The Singapore leg of the IPTL is the first time in three months that the 2008 French Open champion has played competitive tennis.
“It was my first match after a long time and it was quite challenging, so I hope I can improve little by little in the next few matches,” Ana Ivanovic said following her 3-6 loss to Kirsten Flipkens of the Indian Aces. For the day’s matches, the Aces beat the Royals 26-19. In 2014, Ivanovic was part of the Indian Aces team that won the inaugural IPTL tournament. She moved to the UAE Royals for the second season of the IPTL.
The IPTL’s third season will be held until Dec. 11, with the final scheduled for Hyderabad, India. The event will be held in three cities and features four teams.
Source: IPTLWorld.com
