HCM CITY — The Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka, is scheduled to play at the Heineken Stars 2012 tennis exhibition on September 20 at Lan Anh Tennis Club in HCM City.

Azarenka, 23, of Belarus, won the Australia Open, one of four tennis majors, early this year after beating Maria Sharapova of Russia in the final, and has since then taken over the No 1 ranking in the WTA.

She reached the semifinals in the US Open after overcoming defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia in the quaterfinal on Tuesday.

The organisers have also confirmed the participation of three other world-class tennis players, WTA No 13 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, ATP No 17 Gilles Simon of France and ATP No 31 Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

This is the first time the Heineken Stars has invited both male and female players.

David Teng, managing director of Viet Nam Brewery Ltd, explained: "We want to have something different and give fans an opportunity to enjoy world-class tennis, so that's why we invited both male and female players."

The players will come to HCM City on September 19 and play in the singles and doubles matches at the Heineken Stars 2012, an exhibition tennis event that has been held every two years in HCM City since 2006.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, an Australian Open finalist, and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a Wimbledon finalist, as well as Mardy Fish, an American top player, have previously taken part in the event. — VNS