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All eyes will be on 23-time Slam champion Serena Williams when she makes her return from a one-year injury layoff at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, scheduled to be held from June 19-25.
Williams will be seen in action for the first time at the WTA 500 grasscourt event this week since suffering a hamstring injury during her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon last year. The 40-year-old will, however, only be playing doubles at this tournament, where she has teamed up with Berlin champion Ons Jabeur.
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While fans will be waiting with bated breath to see the legend wielding her racket once again, the singles draw in Eastbourne has a lot of other top names who are also capable of putting on a show.
Five top 10 players are in the draw, guaranteeing some exciting action over the course of the week. Top seed and World No. 3 Paula Badosa will play her first grasscourt tournament of the year at Devonshire Park. World No. 4 Ons Jabeur, seeded second, will arrive in the coastal city with tons of momentum following her spectacular campaign in Berlin.
World No. 6 Maria Sakkari, World No. 7 Karolina Pliskova and World No. 10 Garbine Muguruza complete the rest of the top-10 roster participating in the event.
One of the most prestigious Wimbledon warm-up events, Eastbourne has attracted the game's biggest names through the years. This season is no exception as there are lots of talented players who can shake up the draw.
Without further ado, let's take a look at everything you need to know about the Rothesay International:
What is the Rothesay International in Eastbourne?
The Rothesay International started in 1974 as a women's-only tournament in the resort town of Eastbourne, on the southeast coast of England.
The outdoor grasscourt event became a combined men's and women's tournament in 2009, merging with the Nottingham Open. In 2015 and 2016 the men's tournament returned to Nottingham, but Eastbourne has been a combined event since 2017.
The women's competition is classified as a WTA 500 event while the men's is an ATP 250 tournament.
The Eastbourne event has been won in the past by superstars such as Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Monica Seles, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, among others. Martina Navratilova is the most successful champion at the tournament, with a record 11 titles.
2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko won her maiden grasscourt tournament in Eastbourne last year.
Venue
The Rothesay International will be held on the outdoor grasscourts of Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
Players
The top four seeds in the 64-player field in Eastbourne are Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Maria Sakkari and Karolina Pliskova.
Having retired from her third-round match at Roland Garros due to a right calf injury, Badosa will be making her first grasscourt appearance of the season this week. The Spaniard, who made the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, will hope to get some matches under her belt and build confidence ahead of the grasscourt Major.
Jabeur, meanwhile, has been terrific over the past few months, with a first-round exit from Roland Garros being the only aberration. The Tunisian added a second grasscourt title to her name last week in Berlin following her Birmingham triumph in 2021.
Sakkari lost a nail-biter to Belinda Bencic in the semifinals in Berlin, and will be eager for an upturn in fortunes in Eastbourne. She has so far put up an encouraging campaign on the slick surface, including a quarterfinal appearance at Nottingham a week earlier.
After a delayed start to the season due to a hand injury, Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova would be looking to get back into rhythm before heading to SW19. She made the quarterfinals in the German capital last week and will be hoping to improve on that in Eastbourne.
Garbine Muguruza, Coco Gauff, Barbora Krejcikova, Jelena Ostapenko, Elena Rybakina, Jil Teichmann, Madison Keys, Camila Giorgi, Elise Mertens, Petra Kvitova, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Yulia Putintseva round out the top 16 seeds. All seeded players have received a bye into the second round.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur will face the team of Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round of women's doubles.
The full draw can be seen here.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds at the Rothesay International are scheduled for Saturday (June 18) and Sunday (June 19). The main draw action is set to commence on June 19.
The singles final will take place at 12.30 pm local time on Saturday, June 25. The women's doubles final will follow the ATP singles final on the same day.
Prize Money
The total prize money on offer at Rothesay International is $757,900. The winner will take home a cheque of $116,340 and 470 ranking points.
Where to watch
Viewers from the US can catch all the action at the Rothesay International live on the Tennis Channel, while fans in the UK will be able to see it live on BBC & Amazon Prime Video.
Canadians can watch the matches live on TSN. The action will be broadcast in Australia on beIN Sports.
Live action can also be followed on TennisTV.
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