SYDNEY, Dec 4: Italy’s Flavia Pennetta will be the top seed for next month’s WTA Hobart International, the organisers said on Thursday.

The world No 13 is among three of the WTA’s top-20 ranked players to be confirmed for the Tasmanian tournament.

Pennetta will be joined by world No.14 Swiss Patty Schnyder and Russian No 18 Anna Chakvetadze in the Jan 9-16 event.

The Hobart field consists of 17 of the world’s top 50 women, including China’s world No 25 Zheng Jie, Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko (33) and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn (37).—AFP