Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Local tennis fans will have plenty to cheer about at Brisbane International 2016 presented by Suncorp, with three Queenslanders today awarded wildcards into the field.

John-Patrick Smith, Ajla Tomljanovic and rising star Priscilla Hon will all start their 2016 campaigns at Queensland Tennis Centre from Sunday 3 January.

At least five Queenslanders will feature in the world class field – the highest number in tournament history – with the wildcard trio set to join fellow Queenslanders Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur in the line-up.

Eight Australians – Newcombe Medal winner Sam Groth (Vic) and wildcards James Duckworth (NSW) and Thanasi Kokkinakis (SA) are also in the field – have been accepted into the tournament so far, with qualifying berths to be determined next month.

World No.129 John-Patrick Smith will step out in Brisbane alongside headliners Roger Federer (SUI), Kei Nishikori (JPN), Marin Cilic (CRO) and Milos Raonic (CAN) following a strong season on tour.

The 26-year-old took out the ATP Challenger event in Drummondville (CAN) in March, charged to the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport (USA) in July and reached the final of the ATP Challenger event in Vancouver (CAN) in August before hitting a career-high ranking of world No.108 the following month.

Australian No.3 Ajla Tomljanovic also reached a career-high ranking in 2015, climbing to world No.47 in February.

The current world No.65 will be joined by 17-year-old Priscilla Hon in an all-star women’s draw headed by world No.2 Simona Halep (ROU), world No.3 and Wimbledon 2015 finalist Garbine Muguruza (ESP) and world No.4 and defending Brisbane International champion Maria Sharapova (RUS).

Earlier this month Hon won the 18-and-under Australian championships at Melbourne Park to earn a wildcard into Australian Open 2016, setting up a big summer for the young talent.

Brisbane International Tournament Director Cameron Pearson said the three wildcard entrants would give patriotic fans plenty to get excited about in January.

“I’m thrilled to welcome John-Patrick, Ajla and Priscilla to the 2016 field. All three players are in great form and will receive a lot of home crowd support in Brisbane this summer, I’m sure,” he said.

“The field for 2016 is a really exciting mix of international superstars and home grown talent. We have five Grand Slam champions coming to Brisbane but also a lot of very promising young players who look set to test the big names.

“There’s a lot of great tennis in store in the coming weeks and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens out on court.”

The Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, is proud to support Brisbane International 2016 as part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar, highlighting Australia’s best events in spectacular destinations.

Brisbane International 2016, presented by Suncorp and supported by Tourism and Events Queensland, will be held at Queensland Tennis Centre from 3 to 10 January. The tournament is part of the Emirates Australian Open Series, which also incorporates Hopman Cup (Perth), Apia International Sydney, Hobart International and World Tennis Challenge (Adelaide).

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.