Mima Ito will hope for back-to-back ITTF titles with a victory at the Austrian Open ©Getty Images

Japan's Mima Ito will seek to claim back-to-back International Table Tennis Federation tour titles when she begins her women’s singles campaign at the Austrian Open.

Ito emerged as the winner of the Swedish Open in Stockholm last week, with the 18-year-old impressing in the World Tour level event.

The Japanese play could face a tougher task in Austria, as she begins the ITTF World Tour Platinum competition as the eighth seed.

Chinese players are expected to lead the way at the TipsArena in Linz, with Zhu Yuling the top-seeded player.

Compatriots Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen are second and third seeds respectively.

Defending champion Wang Manyu, also of China, has been seeded sixth for the competition.

The main draw is scheduled to begin tomorrow, with two rounds of qualification having taken place.

China’s Lin Gaoyuan will seek to defend the men’s singles title he claimed at last year's event. 

Lin Gaoyuan is the defending men's singles champion at the Austrian Open ©Getty Images
Lin Gaoyuan is the defending men's singles champion at the Austrian Open ©Getty Images

The world number five will also secure passage to the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon as a result of his participation.

It comes as he will have competed at the minimum of five events required, sealing his place at next month’s end of season event in South Korea.

Lin begins as the fifth seed in Austria, with compatriots Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin considered favourites to triumph.

Timo Boll is the third seeded player, the German currently the only player to have won the men’s title on more than one occasion.

Boll triumphed in 2002, 2004 and 2008, before finishing as the runner-up in 2010.

His fellow German, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, has been seeded fourth for the competition.

The competition is scheduled to run until Sunday (November 11).