By DAVID LEGGAT
Some years are easier than others, but Richard Palmer can't think of a harder one as he looks to put together the field for the Auckland's women's international tournament in January.
A variety of issues have conspired to have longtime tournament director Palmer scratching his head in the leadup
to next week's announcement of the first batch of confirmed entries for the ASB Classic.
He admitted the chances of having a top-20 player in the field of 32 are remote. The biggest problem is a clash of dates with three events - an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, the Hopman Cup mixed teams event in Perth and the Gold Coast hardcourt championships.
Of the three, it's the Gold Coast event which has made life awkward for Auckland Tennis officials.
It is a US$170,000 ($240,000) Tier 3 tournament - one rung and US$30,000 above Auckland - and players in the top 50 have been told they must commit to a certain number of Tier 3 events or risk hefty fines next year.
Therefore several who might otherwise have come to Auckland are looking to get one of those Tier 3 events out of the way at the start of the year.
"Every year presents different challenges. I'd be very happy with three in the 20-30 bracket. We're working towards that," he said.
The highest-ranked player confirmed for the tournament, which starts on January 3, is world No 34 Eleni Daniilidou, who is chasing a third successive title in Auckland.
Players of the calibre of 2001 winner Meilen Tu and Cara Black of Zimbabwe are likely to have to work through the qualifying tournament.
In a way, that's good news from Palmer's viewpoint. He is adamant that overall, women's tennis is far stronger than even five years ago.
And so, although star quality may be thin, the broad playing strength will be high.
