Among those set to compete is last year’s men’s champion Ramy Ashour of Egypt.

The 30-year-old, who defeated fellow countryman Karim Abdel Gawad in the 2016 final, is back in action after suffering with injury and illness at the start of the season.

He will begin his campaign against tournament wildcard and home favourite Leo Au, the world number 26, on Wednesday (November 15).

Second seed Gawad will open against Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, the world number 17.

He could face fourth-seeded compatriot Ali Farag in the semi-finals should they both make it through their respective matches.

The US Open winner will begin his bid for glory against English qualifier Tom Richards in round one.

Tournament top seed and world number one Gregory Gaultier of France will start against compatriot Gregoire Marche.

Gaultier made his eagerly-anticipated return to action at the recently-held Qatar Classic after struggling at the start of the season with injury.

He reached the semi-final stage before being knocked out by eventual champion Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt.

The pair could meet once again as they are seeded to meet in the semi-finals should they make it through their respective fixtures.

Elshorbagy has been a force to be reckoned with so far this season, reaching the final of every tournament he has competed in this year and picking up three titles in total.

He will be aiming to keep up his formidable form as he opens against Hong Kong’s Max Lee.

In the women’s draw, defending champion Nouran Gohar will open against tournament wildcard Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling.

The young Egyptian brought an end to eight-time world champion Nicol David’s unprecedented 10-year winning-streak at the tournament at the semi-final stage last year, before beating American number one Amanda Sobhy in the final.

Malaysia’s David, who won the event every year from 2006 to 2015, gets her tournament underway against Canadian Danielle Letourneau.

Letourneau came through qualification at the expense of Hong Kong’s Ho Ka-Wing and England’s Jenny Duncalf.

World number one and top seed Nour El Sherbini will also open against a qualifier in the form of fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas.

She could come up against world number four Laura Massaro of England in the semi-finals with the two players seeded to meet should they come through their respective earlier-round matches.

English contingent Massaro and Sarah-Jane Perry will start their tournaments against Egyptian qualifier Hania El Hammamy and France’s Coline Aumard, respectively, in round one.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Raneem El Welily of Egypt will start against England’s Fiona Moverley, who won the Open International de Squash de Nantes in September.

Number three seed Camille Serme of France is in action against Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold, who saw off Hong Kong’s Carmen Lee and Ka Yi Lee in qualification to secure a main-draw berth.

El Welily and Serme are seeded to meet in the semi-finals should they both progress, as expected.

Action will initially be held at the Hong Kong Squash Centre, between tomorrow and Thursday (November 16), before moving onto the glass court erected at the arena in Hong Kong Park Sports Centre from Friday (November 17) to Sunday (November 19).

The Hong Kong Open presents another chance for players to earn points as they bid to qualify for the season-ending PSA World Series Finals.

Only the top eight players on the men’s and women’s standings earn a coveted berth at the lucrative tournament.