US marvel Sloane Stephens heads tennis lineup

Sloane Stephens, whose incredibly fast recovery from a disabling foot injury didn’t deter her from victory in the US Open, will head a star-studded line-up at this year's WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Stevens, 24, a native of Florida, was unseeded when she entered the competition. However, as ESPN reported on Sept 10: "No man or woman not named (Venus or Serena) Williams had won a Grand Slam title in 14 years until Stephens beat (Madison) Keys 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday evening."

"I'm excited to be coming to Zhuhai," said Stephens. "Qualifying for an elite year-end event is a great reward at the end of what has been an incredible year for me. I can't wait to compete hard against those other great players and try and end this season on a high."

Russians Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina and Latvian Anastasija Sevastova will join Stephens on the courts of the Hengqin Tennis Center, announced the event's organizing committee on Oct 19.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai was awarded a wildcard into the event, filling the fifth of a 12-player singles field for the season-ending showcase. Of them, only Vesnina has participated in the Zhuhai event previously.

The complete line-up will be decided on Oct 24 and the competitions begin on Oct 31.

Sloane Stephens [File Photo]