Elina Svitolina will return to Rome to defend her title as the 2019 Internazionali BNL d'Italia starts, with main draw play beginning on Monday May 13.

Gallery: Rulers of Rome: A decade of champions from Safina to Svitolina

The winner of the tournament will take home a check for €523,858.

The runner-up wins €261,802, with each semifinalist receiving €130,774.

Losers in the final eight get €60,240, while players reaching the third round win €29,866.

Reaching the second round will mean a player gets €15,330, while those in the first round win €7,879.

Svitolina beat top seed Simona Halep in last year's final 6-0, 6-4 to win her second successive Rome title, beating the Romanian both times. They are joined in the draw this year by World No.1 Naomi Osaka and former finalists Madison Keys, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sara Errani and Victoria Azarenka as well as Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and four-time winner Serena Williams.

Last year's doubles champions were Ashleigh Barty and Demi Schuurs, who defeated Czech pair Andrea Sestini Hlavackova and Barbora Strycova 2-6, 6-4, [10-8] in the final.