Sharapova, Li to lead charge in Tokyo

TOKYO: Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova, French Open champion Li Na and world number one Caroline Wozniacki will headline this year's Pan Pacific Open,Tokyo organisers said on Tuesday.

Russian Sharapova, stunned by Czech Petra Kvitova in the women's Wimbledon final earlier this month, has twice won the $2.05 million Tokyo event, which begins on Sept. 25.

Sharapova and Danish rival Wozniacki, the defending champion, will fly to Japan early to take part in charity events in support of the victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Organisers told Reuters, children would be invited from disaster-hit Fukushima Prefecture, where a power plant suffered a nuclear meltdown after being crushed by the tsunami wave.

Looking further ahead, Sharapova, currently ranked number five in the world, will open next year's campaign with January's Brisbane International, which was upgraded by the WTA to premier status for 2012, to warm up for the Australian Open.