HONG KONG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- World No. 8 Emma Navarro has confirmed to play the inaugural Hong Kong Open WTA 125 tournament to start on Monday, organizers said on Sunday.
Navarro suffered a shock defeat to China's wild card entry Zhang Shuai in the second round of the China Open two days ago.
Zhang, who had previously planned to take part, otherwise has to withdraw after reaching the round of 16 in Beijing with a third round victory over Belgium's Greet Minnen.
Navarro reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon this year and went on to secure her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, elevating her to a new career-high eighth in the world rankings.
The American player, who is joined by former world No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania and former Chinese top player Wang Qiang, will take on Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the first round. ■
