THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL -- Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova top the list of players entered in this year's US$1.340 million Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament.
The question now is how many will show up.
When the women's event was last held at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal in 2006, Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin were among those who confirmed their entry in advance, only to back out before play started.
The 2006 event ended up with only eight of the world's top 15 players, but was saved from total ignominy when Ivanovic picked up her first important tournament victory.
Ivanovic, now ranked No. 1 in the world, tops an entry list for the July 28-Aug. 3 tournament that includes No. 2 Jankovic, No. 3 Sharapova, No. 5 Elena Dementieva, No. 7 Venus Williams, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 9 Dinara Safina.
"I'm very satisfied with our list of players," tournament director Eugene Lapierre said in a statement. "Given that the tournament will be held only two weeks before the Olympic games, the presence of so many top players proves the attractive force of the Rogers Cup.
"The event will be the ultimate test for the players before the Games. Also, the world No. 1 ranking could be up for grabs."
Those still not entered include No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 6 Serena Williams.
Tennis Canada also announced that the tournament will try to help fight pollution by offering free public transit tickets to spectators and providing a shuttle service from downtown Montreal to the stadium in the city's north end.
It will also buy carbon credits to offset emissions from the shuttles and from a car service offered to players and employees.
There will also be a commercial compost service to handle the food and biodegradable table wear at the event, and all tickets and promotional material will be printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Staff will also use mostly biodegradable cleaning products.
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