One of the most consistent players in Grand Slam tennis in 2005 is set to grace the courts at the 2006 ASB Classic. Russian world No.10, Nadia Petrova, has confirmed she will play the ASB Classic featuring the Sovereign singles and doubles at the ASB Tennis Centre, January 2nd-7th, 2006.

Petrova has had some top-class results this year, especially in Grand Slams where she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, the semi-finals at Roland Garros losing to eventual winner Justine Henin-Hardenne plus the quarter-finals of Wimbledon going down to Maria Sharapova. Then at the US Open she made the quarters before losing to Sharapova in a dramatic three set match. Her consistency in 2005 Grand Slams puts her ahead of Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo and Elena Dementieva and is bettered only by Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and Mary Pierce. Petrova also reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2003 and the quarter-finals at the 2004 US Open.

Her performances have seen her climb as high as No.6 in the WTA world singles rankings. The announcement of Petrova has delighted ASB Classic tournament director, Richard Palmer. It’s wonderful that a player of Petrova’s class is coming to the ASB Classic in Auckland for the first time. It’s a coup to get her here. The commitment from ASB to make the tenth anniversary of their sponsorship of the ASB Classic special has significantly contributed to making this happen. We look forward to seeing a player of this calibre on court in the New Year." said Palmer.

Surprisingly the Moscow native has yet to win a WTA singles title, coming close just recently at Bangkok where she made the final but lost to Nicole Vaidisova. She also had a runner-up finish at the Tier 1 event at Berlin in May, beating Amelie Mauresmo before falling to Henin-Hardenne.

Other good results include two other semi-finals aside from Roland Garros, plus numerous quarter-finals. On two other occasions Petrova has made finals, Gold Coast last year and Linz in 2003, however Palmer says the Classic could be an ideal opportunity for his top seed to take a title. "She’s certainly got the ability to win titles. We are obviously hoping that Auckland will be the first of many."

There have also been significant results in doubles this year where Petrova and regular partner, American Meghann Shaughnessy reached the semis at Roland Garros and the quarters at Wimbledon. On the back of her good results her doubles ranking rose to No.3 in the world. She has a total of 11 doubles titles, many of which are in top-Tier events. The 23-year-old learnt a large amount of her tennis in Egypt where her athletics coach parents were working. Her father, Victor Petrov, was a top hammer thrower while her mother, Nadejda Ilina, won a bronze medal in the 400-meter relay at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Petrova herself has also competed at an Olympics, representing Russia in Athens.

Only once previously has a current top-ten ranked player participated in the ASB Classic. This occurred when Germany’s Anke Huber played in Auckland in 1997. The 2006 ASB Classic featuring the Sovereign singles and doubles will be held January 2-7, 2006 at the ASB Tennis Centre, 1 Tennis Lane, Parnell with qualifying on Saturday 31 December 2005 and Sunday 1 January 2006.