Venus Williams chats with members of the press during the Hong Kong Tennis Classic press conference. (Photo by Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com)

HONG KONG -- Tennis superstars Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams are slated to showcase their skills as well as their glamorous get-ups when they see action in the 2010 Hong Kong Tennis Classic from January 6 to 9.

"I'm very fortunate to be back," Sharapova said during the press conference at the Mandarin Oriental on Monday.

The Russian world No. 14 was sidelined by a shoulder injury for the most part of 2009.

Williams, meantime, is ready for some hardcourt action after having a "nice off-season."

Current stars of the tennis world along with new talents and former champions will participate in the event's world team challenge that will be held at Victoria Park.

Joining Williams and Sharapova are Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang, Caroline Wozniacki, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Paradorn Srichaphan, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka, Zheng Jie, Gisela Dulko and Ayumi Morita.

They comprise the "best cast of players," according to Hong Kong Tennis Patrons' Association President Ian Wade.

First-class tennis

Chang, who is part of defending champion Team Americas, stated: "It's certainly a treat to be back in Hong Kong."

He said it is going to be a great week because of the "high caliber first-class tennis."

Edberg added that Hong Kong is a "great place for tennis... People love watching tennis here."

The Hong Kong Tennis Classic world team challenge will feature 4 squads representing Europe (Wozniacki, Azarenka and Edberg), Russia (Sharapova, Zvonareva and Kafelnikov), the Americas (Williams, Dulko and Chang) and Asia Pacific (Zheng, Morita and Srichaphan).

Team Asia Pacific will take on Team Russia on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. while Team Europe will face Team Americas on Thursday. The finals stages will take place on Friday and Saturday.

All players were present during the "Meet the Teams" press conference except for Zheng who was stuck in the Beijing snow.

Edberg, Chang, Wozniacki and Zvonareva proceeded to the Cultural Centre Viewing Deck in Kowloon after Monday's press conference for the "Tennis by the Spectacular Harbour" event.

They volleyed some balls on a mini tennis court with the Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong skyline in the background. -- by Ma. Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com