World number four Dominika Cibulkova will be returning to the Aegon International this summer as she looks to defend her title, though will face stiff competition from the likes of Karolina Pliskova, who she beat in the final last year, and home favorite Johanna Konta.
Cibulkova, who had the best season of her career in 2016, will be looking to defend as many points as possible as she aims to become a consistent top 10 player, with Pliskova and Konta having similar aims as they look to improve on last year’s results.
The three aren’t the only notable names who are set to be in action, with the likes of former Eastbourne champion Ekaterina Makarova, and former Grand Slam champion Sam Stosur also set to be in action.
With a couple of weeks until the full entry list is confirmed, it is possible that a few more notable names could join the already stellar field.
The likes of Pliskova, Cibulkova headline strong field
The tournament has certainly got some hugely notable names to take part, with Pliskova and Konta ranked first and second on the Road To Singapore, and Cibulkova moving on to winning the WTA Finals after a successful season which included the title in Eastbourne.
Konta, who has lived in Eastbourne for over a decade, reached the semifinals last year, and will have huge support as she looks to win the title in her home town, though the likes of Pliskova, who beat the Brit last year, and Cibulkova will be a huge test.
Amongst the other notable names entered include Makarova and Stosur, who will both be looking for a good result after a mixed couple of seasons, whilst young stars Daria Kasatkina and Kristina Mladenovic, who both won their first WTA titles this year, will be looking to make their mark as they hope to progress up the rankings.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, whose progression up the rankings has been one of the stories of the season, will also be in action, as will be the in-form Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Timea Babos, and Daria Gavrilova.