The tournament will include top-ranked tennis talent from the ATP and WTA tours, with six male and six female players including Kei Nishikori and two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza.

Three rounds of single-elimination matches will be played over three days in a best two-out-of-three set format. Third sets will be played as a tie-break with the first to 10 points declared the winner.

U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori tops the men’s draw. Nishikori is the only Japanese man to be ranked inside the Top 5 on the ATP tour. Other confirmed players include Mackenzie McDonald, Jared Donaldson, Ryan Harrison and Michael Mmoh. The final male player will be determined after the U.S. Open.

Garbine Muguruza, who won the 2016 French Open and last year’s Wimbledon, tops the women’s draw. Americans CoCo Vandeweghe, Christina McHale and Kayla Day, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and 2016 Hawaii Open champion CiCi Bellis round out the women’s draw.

“I’m excited to play in the Hawaii Open,” said Nishikori.

“I don’t usually go to Hawaii for tournaments and I’ve only played one challenger in Hawaii before. I’m very happy to return to such a beautiful island.”

Tournament week begins Thursday, Dec. 20, with a VIP Pro-Am. The players’ party will be held at the Prince Waikiki hotel the following day. Match play begins Friday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m., with two men’s matches and two women’s matches.

Saturday semifinals will also include two men’s matches and two women’s matches.

Saturday night will feature a separate charity session after tournament play to benefit Hawaii Volcano disaster relief charities. Kei Nishikori, Garbine Muguruza, and other stars of the Hawaii Open will play in three exhibition matches with special guests like Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and actor Daniel Dae Kim. Kailua Racquet Club’s Night Doubles champions will also be matched against Hawaii Open doubles teams during the charity session.

Ticket prices for the charity session will be $20.Championship Sunday features a third-place men’s match, followed by the women’s and men’s championship matches and championship trophy presentations.

“As a lifelong competitive tennis player, it is absolutely amazing to have players of this calibre play live in Hawaii,” said Rick Fried, Chairman of the Board of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

“To my knowledge, Hawaii has never had an opportunity to watch live tennis at this high level. Kei Nishikori and Garbine Muguruza will be pressed by a number of other top men and women competing in the Hawaii Open so every match should be very competitive.”

George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, noted, “Hawaii is an ideal, world-class setting to host top-flight professional tennis, especially in winter.

“The players love the warm, beautiful weather and the combination of enthusiasm and aloha spirit that Hawaii’s tennis fans shower them with. We thank the Hawaii Open organizers for creating this special, one-of-a-kind holiday tennis tournament for players and fans to enjoy.”

“We are thrilled to bring top ATP and WTA players to Honolulu,” said Ben Goldsmith, tournament director of the Hawaii Open.

“With our centrally located venue of the Blaisdell Arena and the support of our presenting sponsor the Hawaii Tourism Authority, we expect this to be a fantastic event for locals and visitors alike.”

USTA members are invited to purchase tickets early via a pre-sale Aug. 21-23 starting at 9 a.m. HST. Tickets for the general public go on sale Aug. 24 at 9 a.m. HST. General admission prices start at $25.

For more information about the 2018 Hawaii Open and to purchase tickets, visit www.hawaiitennisopen.com. Follow the Hawaii Open on Facebook.