The Hobart International has scored a glamorous drawcard with former world No.5 Eugenie Bouchard to play the January 10-16 event as she attempts to get her injury-hit tennis career back on track.
The 21-year-old Canadian will contest the Hobart tournament for the first time in the lead up to the Australian Open, looking to bounce back from a 2015 season marred by an off-court fall suffered at the US Open.
Bouchard showed her enormous potential when she reached her first grand slam final at the Australian Open at age 19 in 2014 and went on to make the Wimbledon final and crack the world top 10 rankings and WTA Finals that year.
However she suffered a big setback at the US Open last September when she sustained a head injury after falling on a tile floor in a physical therapy room.
She was forced to pull out of her fourth round match with concussion and remained troubled as she withdrew from an event in Wuhan, China and retired midway through a first round match in Beijing with dizziness.
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She did not contest another tour event this year and her ranking has fallen to No.49.
She filed a lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association for damages related to her fall.
"I want to start my 2016 season strongly and am hoping to get high quality matches in Hobart," said Bouchard.
"I've had great success in Australia in the past and can't wait to experience a new city."
