Kruger leads SA contingent as Glushko chases more titles in Pretoria

South Africa's top-ranked player, Isabella Kruger, will lead a five-member local contingent when they face international competitors from around the world at the second successive ITF World Tennis Tour W50 tournament in Pretoria starting on Tuesday.

Kruger, who reached the quarterfinals of the WIPHOLD International in Pretoria last week, will meet Adithya Karunaratne of Hong Kong in the first round on Tuesday, it was confirmed at the draw for the lucrative tournament held on Monday.

Among the other SA players, all given wildcard entries, Zoe Kruger plays No 6 seed Manon Leonard of France, while 18-year-old Hailey Robyn Troup faces a stiff challenge in her opening match against No 2 seed Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic

Are you ready for Week 2 of the WIPHOLD International? 🎾

The second of two back-to-back international women's $40,000 events kicks off tomorrow in Tshwane.

South Africa will be represented by five players in the main draw lineup! #WIPHOLDinternational pic.twitter.com/doKEMA7aP4

— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) February 26, 2024

Aiming to gain valuable experience, 18-year-old Lilitha Ndungane, who reached the second round at the W50 tournament last week, meets Ekaterina Shalimova of Russia, and Marilouise van Zyl turns out against Amanada Elkin Nava of Mexico who progressed to this week's main draw through the qualifying rounds.

Among the foreign players in the main draw, all eyes will be on Israeli star Lina Glushko, who won both the singles and doubles titles last week. She will play Rina Saigo of Japan in the first round on Tuesday.

Top seed Laura Pigossi of Brazil will face Russian player Anastasia Kovaleva for a place in the second round.