Champion Oceane Dodin returning to defend tennis title
Rising French tennis star Oceane Dodin has signalled her intent to defend her Aegon GB Pro-Series title in Shrewsbury this month – while Croatian ace Donna Vekic, ranked just outside the world's top 100, has also entered the ITF event.
Exciting teenager Dodin, 19, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since winning the $25,000 event at The Shrewsbury Club last year.
Ranked 559 in the world at the time, she has since rocketed to 144, having been as high as 116 last month. Dodin, from Lille, recently hit the headlines by beating former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the US Open in New York and reached the second round of both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year.
"It's great that Oceane is keen to come back to Shrewsbury and defend her title," said Dave Courteen, managing director of The Shrewsbury Club. "It shows just how much she enjoyed herself last year and it's always nice that players hold fond memories of Shrewsbury and appreciate what we do to make the tournament as special as possible."
Vekic, currently ranked 109 in the world, has also entered the tournament, which will take place between November 14 and 21.
The 19-year-old has been ranked as high as 62 in the world and reached the third round of the French Open in Paris earlier this year.
A host of other players ranked in the world's top 200 have also indicated they are keen to compete in Shrewsbury, while some of the best up and coming British players, headed by current British No.4 Katy Dunne, are also set to take part.
Katie Swan, a talented 16-year-old from Bristol, could also be one to watch.
Currently ranked sixth in the junior world rankings, she reached the junior final at this year's Australian Open and was also a quarter finalist at Junior Wimbledon.
