The PTT Pattaya Open in Pattaya City gets underway on February 6th with Vera Zvonareva and Daniela Hantuchova in the field.
With large parts of Europe experiencing sub-zero temperatures right now it's hardly surprising to see a few of the big names opting for the warmer climate of Thailand.
Vera Zvonareva loves this tournament having won back to back singles titles in the past. The former Wimbledon finalist narrowly missed out on a hat-trick last year but she'll be keen to make amends this time round.
Zvonareva's 2011 Pattaya conqueror was 28 year old Hantuchova who's still entrenched in the top 20 well over a decade after she first broke through on the tour. Hantuchova came a-cropper in the Aussie Open third round against Kim Clijsters but she's already made a WTA final in 2012, reaching the showpiece in Brisbane.
Look out for China's Jie Zheng, a former Australian Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist who looked to back in that kind of form at this year's Aussie Open, beating Marion Bartoli on the way to the fourth round.
And British teenagers Heather Watson and Laura Robson may just cause a bit of a stir this week. Both enjoyed impressive junior careers with Watson establishing herself in the top 100 last year. Robson (who won junior Wimbledon at just 14) is a step behind but with an impressively mature game, it's not going to be long before she makes big inroads in a WTA tournament.
