PTT PATTAYA OPEN WOMEN´S DOUBLES. 27 JANUARY 2014.

ELENA VESNINA AND MAKAROVA
The 2014 PTT Pattaya Open, WTA tennis tournament features a strong line-up in the doubles competition with 4 of the world’s top 6 doubles players competing in the US$250,000 tournament, which is being played at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Pattaya from 26 January – 2 February. 
Top billing goes to the Asian pair of Peng Shuai from China and Hsieh Su-Wei from Taiwan. 
The pair are jointly ranked at No 3 in the world doubles rankings after a year in which they won the Grand Slam doubles at Wimbledon and the year-end WTA Championships as well as 3 other WTA titles in 2013. The beaten finalists in the WTA Championships last year, Elena Vesnina (ranked No 5) and Ekaterina Makarova (ranked No 6), both of whom hail from Russia will also competing in Pattaya. 
They also won a Grand Slam doubles title at Roland Garros and in addition triumphed in Indian Wells. Other leading doubles players featuring in Pattaya are world No 11 Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic, Anastasia Rodionova of Australia (ranked No 22), Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia (ranked No 26) and Julia Goerges of Germany (ranked No 27). Thailand has 6 players ranked in the top 200 in doubles; Tamarine Tanasugarn at No 83, Nicha Lertpitaksinchai at 157, Peangtarn Plipuech at 157, Luksika Kumkhum at 161, Varatchaya Wongteanchai at 166 and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn at 176. Several of these players are expected to be in the doubles draw at the PTT Pattaya Open.