INQUIRER Sports

HONG KONG -- World number one Jelena Jankovic and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams top the bill at this week's World Team Challenge as the players gear up for the season's opening Grand Slam.

The Hong Kong event, which sees teams from four regions battling for the trophy, also includes China's top player Zheng Jie and Indian superstar Sania Mirza, who is recovering from serious injury.

Top-ranked Serbian Jankovic, captaining the European team, said she was looking forward to getting on the courts in Hong Kong as she bids to break her Grand Slam duck at the upcoming Australian Open.

Jankovic, who ended 2008 as world number one after a see-saw battle for the top spot, has yet to win one of the four majors.

"It's a great opportunity to play many matches and to get my rhythm and get match fit. It's really great preparation for the Australian Open," she said of the tournament starting Wednesday.

"My main goal is to stay number one as long as possible and one of the priorities is to win a first Grand Slam," the 23-year-old added, saying she had worked hard on her fitness in the off-season.

Leading the US team will be Williams, 28, currently number six in the world, who won her seventh Grand Slam title and her fifth Wimbledon crown last season as well as her first WTA Tour Championships title.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Mirza said she was delighted to be back on court after a painful wrist problem which forced her out of the Beijing Olympics in tears and left her unable even to lift a fork to eat.

The Indian, who reached a career-high ranking of 27 in August 2007, said she was feeling fit again following treatment recommended by Yuvraj Singh, her friend and an Indian Test batsman.

"Coming back from a career-threatening injury makes it very special to be back," said Mirza, whose ranking plummeted last year as injury blighted her season and is now ranked 100.

China's Zheng, who last year became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles semi-final when she reached the last four at Wimbledon, said her successful run there had boosted her confidence.

"I came back and everyone was saying congratulations," said Zheng. "I was just so happy. That semi-final gave me more confidence and more belief that I can play the best players in the world and I can get better and better."

The World Team Challenge, which runs until January 10, features teams representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

The Russian team includes world number seven Vera Zvonareva and Anna Chakvetadze, who is a replacement for Maria Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open champion, who was forced to pull out of the exhibition event because of an injury.

Each team consists of three players. The top two from each team will compete in singles while the third player, a "star of tomorrow," will compete in doubles along with one of the singles players.

Winners of the semi-finals will advance to the gold group final while the losers will play in the silver group final.

The Australian Open, the season's opening Grand Slam, starts on January 19.