West Australian teenager Jessica Moore has received the first Australian wildcard into the main draw of the 2009 Moorilla Hobart International.
Moorilla Hobart International Tournament Director Michael Roberts said it will be a fantastic opportunity for Moore and tennis fans in Tasmania.
“Jessica has been one of the outstanding rising stars of Australian women’s tennis over the past 12 months and she will be looking to improve her ranking even further in her first tournament of the new year,” Roberts said.
“Tassie fans always turn out in force to support the Australians at this event and seeing as it is Moore’s third appearance they will be sure to get right behind her.”
“Casey Dellacqua used the tournament in 2008 to kick start her best season on the WTA tour, including a career-high ranking of 39 in July, and hopefully the experience will be just as beneficial for Moore,” Roberts added.
Moore will be looking for a better result in January after being knocked out in the first round of this year’s tournament by top seed Alona Bondarenko.
Despite her disappointing result in Hobart, 18-year-old Moore has enjoyed an outstanding 2008 season, winning the junior girls’ doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.
On the senior tour she more than halved her WTA ranking, reaching a career high 132 in October and finished the year at 138.
Moore was the best-performed Australian woman at the US Open reaching the second round as a wildcard.
She reached the second round of the Australian Open and made her Fed Cup debut for Australia, playing ties against Indonesia and India in the Asia/Oceania Group A round robin.
Tickets are now on sale for the Moorilla Hobart International through Ticketek, with tickets starting at just $9.90.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketek.com.au or 1300 888 104