Luksika Kumkhum the one to beat in Ningbo

Kumkhum - ranked 85th - is one of three top-100 players set to appear in Ningbo, China, alongside China's Zheng Saisai (93rd) and Russian Alla Kudryavtseva (97th).

Romania's Sorana Cirstea, ranked 94th but as high as 21st in August 2013, was a late withdrawal from the 125K-level event.

Played on hard courts, Kumkhum should be suited to the surface - especially after playing herself into form with a run to the semi-finals in Osaka earlier in October.

The 21-year-old recorded her best win of her career earlier in 2014 on hard courts, too, when she beat Petra Kvitova - now a two-time Wimbledon champion - at the Australian Open.

Zheng, set to assume the second seeding, beat both Jelena Jankovic - the world number 14 - and Cirstea on a run to the Tianjin semi-finals in October.

Kudryavtseva has had a unique warm-up for a singles event, competing in the doubles at the WTA Championships.

Partnering Anastasia Rodionova, Kudryavtseva is into the semi-finals of the cashed-up tournament in Singapore.

Kudryavtseva is in desperate need of some singles results, however, with just two Tour-level match wins to her name since reaching the US Open second round - where she lost to Angelique Kerber.

Other players set to appear in Ningbo include Austria's Patricia Mayr-Achleitner, Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, China's Wang Qiang, Israel's Shahar Peer and Misaki Doi of Japan.