Shahar Peer will be seeded for Australian Open

A strong finish to the season has seen Shahar Peer climb to 31st in the WTA rankings, a position that ensures she will be seeded for the Australian Open.

Peer, 22, began the year ranked 38 but slumped to 70 in the spring before enjoying an excellent second half of the year, winning tournaments in China and Uzbekistan.

Last week she reached the last eight of the Tournament of Champions in Indonesia.

Peer’s target for 2010 is to surpass her career-high ranking of 15 in 2007. She said: “I was really hurt by the refusal of Dubai to give me a visa in February and soon after I was injured. But I’ve been playing my best tennis and really looking forward to 2010.”