Tennis: Ivanovic likely to return

Ana Ivanovic on her way to winning this year's ASB Classic final against Venus Williams. Photo / Richard Robinson

Serbian Ana Ivanovic is a strong possibility to be named as the top seed for January's ASB Tennis Classic in Auckland this afternoon.

The defending champion has been hard to pin down for tournament director Karl Budge who has been chasing her signature for months.

It's understood the top seed will be top ten ranked, Ivanovic has risen to eight in the standings with other contenders, 3rd ranked Simona Halep and 9th ranked Caroline Wozniacki.