The city of Monastir will host the second edition of the WTA 250 Jasmins Open, from October 14 to 22. This event will see the participation of several world-class players, including Ons Jabeur and Venus Williams.

The tournament will bring together 32 players, with Ons Jabeur as the top seed and Dutch player Arantxa Rus (47th) as the second seed.

"The final list of participants will be drawn up on Saturday," Salma Mouelhi, president of the Tunisian Tennis Federation, said at a press conference in Monastir.

This second edition will be even more successful than the previous one, which attracted a lot of attention, especially on social media, she added.

"All the players will be staying in the same hotel that is hosting the tournament this year," Mouelhi explained. "Tickets have been on sale with discounts since Friday and online ticket sales will be open to the public on Sunday."

On the other hand, tournament director Chiheb Belhaj Youssef explained that the organisers are only allowed to include one player from the WTA top 10 in the tournament. He confirmed that world No. 7 Ons Jabeur will be taking part in this second edition.

Former world number one, American Venus Williams (50 titles), will also be part of the tournament and her participation will help to promote the event.

"Several players wanted to take part in the Monastir tournament, but we can only keep 32 players for the final draw, including four from the qualifying rounds," he explained. "The players will be of a similar level as most of them are ranked between 50 and 70."

According to the organisers, players will start arriving in the city of Monastir on October 12, just two days before the start of the qualifying rounds on October 14 and 15. The first round of the main draw will take place on October 16 and 17, with the final scheduled for 22 October.

"I hope that Ons Jabeur will win this second edition of the Jasmins Open," said the tournament director, adding that the $250,000 prize money will be split between the doubles and singles events.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse