SERENA WILLIAMS and Hawk-Eye are set to rule the courts at the Medibank International next year. Along with Williams headlining the event, tournament chief Craig Watson yesterday announced that charismatic Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would be another big drawcard for the tournament at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.

Lleyton Hewitt is also expected to make his comeback from injury at the event from January 11 to 17. "I'm very excited about the field," Watson said. "Having Jo-Wilfried Tsonga back - and he set the world alight last year - he's back in form, he's fit, he's ready to go, so that's really exciting. Having Serena Williams is just an absolute boom for the event. We're very happy with the field."

With Williams, the world No.3, secured, the Medibank International is expected to boast a field containing the world's top three women and the Beijing Olympic gold medallist, namely Jelena Jankovic (No.1), Dinara Safina (No.2) and Elena Dementieva.

Hewitt will be in his 12th year on the men's tour and has confirmed to organisers that his recovery is on track. The Wimbledon and US Open champion's world ranking has slipped to 68 due to a debilitating hip injury, which required surgery following the Olympics.

"All the reports that I have had is that his recovery is on track," Watson said. "He's looking forward to Sydney in January, and he's stated that publicly and, of course, we did announce Lleyton a little earlier. No, all good there."

Watson is expected to announce the securing of some more world-class players in coming months, but glamorous and talented Ana Ivanovic will not be one of them.

"Ana did play last year, but she's been confirmed to play in Brisbane," Watson said. "Again, there's a couple of wildcards, and if Ana needed some extra matches, we'd love to have her."

The event will feature the line-calling system Hawk-Eye for the first time. The system has been working successfully at the Australian Open and other major tournaments for several years now.