The 2023 China Open will run from September 30th to October 8th, and the draw for this women's event has been released.
Beijing will host the final WTA 1000 tournament of this season and it promises to be an absolute blockbuster. The field is packed with world-class athletes as the WTA's finest return to the National Tennis Centre for the first time since 2019.
The tournament will contain 60 names on the singles playing field. Four players will be the beneficiaries of performance byes. These will be Japan Open semifinalists who are still actively competing in Tokyo: Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Veronika Kudermetova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The quartet will begin their campaigns in Beijing in the second round. The top half of the draw is led by Aryna Sabalenka who will play her first match as a freshly-minted World No. 1. The Belarusian will take on her Rome conqueror Sofia Kenin who has enjoyed a resurgent season in 2023.
Sabalenka is projected to meet Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round. But it remains to be seen if the Brazilian lefty has made a full recovery from a freak hand injury she picked up in Guadalajara. Haddad Maia opens up against feisty Italian Jasmine Paolini.
Pavlyuchenkova, who is unseeded, has a bye in the first round and will likely meet 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech has a qualifier to begin her Beijing adventure. Fourth seed Pegula is also among the players with the aforementioned first-round bye, and she'll kick off her China Open campaign against one of Donna Vekic or Anna Blinkova.
Former finalist Petra Kvitova will face in-form Chinese lefty Xiyu Wang, who recently won her maiden title in Guangzhou. Kvitova isn't the only player facing a seemingly tough opener against a home crowd favorite. Fifth seed Elena Rybakina, who made headlines in Tokyo, will take on China's No. 1 Qinwen Zheng.
Seventh seed Ons Jabeur will play a qualifier in her opening match, but the level of competition will get significantly harder from there. The Tunisian could play Marta Kostyuk in the second round, provided the Ukrainian will defeat Italian clay-court specialist Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
In the bottom half of the draw, we find Iga Swiatek. The second seed will be keen to overcome her recent shock exit in Tokyo. Swiatek faces Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in her opener and could play fellow Pole Magda Linette in the third round.
It is doubtful though for Linette to make it that far. She will face 14th seed Victoria Azarenka in her opening match which is hardly a cakewalk draw. Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is Swiatek's most probable quarterfinal opponent. But the Czech lefty will need to clear some big hurdles before then.
Vondrousova will start her campaign against Anhelina Kalinina and will face one of Daria Saville or Katerina Siniakova if she is successful. A third-round meeting against Caroline Garcia will be her biggest test before that projected meeting against the former World No. 1, if the seeds hold.
US Open champion Coco Gauff is set for her debut appearance in Beijing. Gauff hasn't played since winning her maiden Grand Slam in New York. She is jostling in a very tricky section. Her first match will be against big-hitting Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova who caught fire in Tokyo.
If the young phenom successfully navigates that hurdle, she will play one of Petra Martic or Sorana Cirstea. A third-round meeting against Veronika Kudermetova looks like it could happen, but do not rule out China's No. 2 player Lin Zhu from gatecrashing those plans.
Zhu has a winnable opener against Lesia Tsurenko and could play a fatigued Veronika Kudermeotva in her second-round match. Sixth seed Maria Sakkari will start her China Open campaign on Tuesday at the earliest.
The Greek will play the winner of the match between Linda Fruhvirtova and Arantxa Rus. Sakkari's projected third-round opponent is 11th seed Daria Kasatkina. For the full breakdown of the China Open draw, be sure to check it out below.
2023 China Open Beijing WTA Draw:
| 1. Aryna Sabalenka (1) |
| 2. Sofia Kenin |
| 3. Qualifier |
| 4. Qualifier |
| 5. Yue Yuan |
| 6. Elise Mertens |
| 7. Jasmine Paolini |
| 8. Beatriz Haddad Maia (15) |
| 9. Barbora Krejcikova (10) |
| 10. Qualifier |
| 11. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova |
| 12. Performance BYE |
| 13. Martina Trevisan |
| 14. Tatjana Maria |
| 15. Qinwen Zheng |
| 16. Elena Rybakina (5) |
| 17. Jessica Pegula (4) |
| 18. Performance BYE |
| 19. Donna Vekic |
| 20. Anna Blinkova |
| 21. Fangran Tian |
| 22. Linda Noskova |
| 23. Qualifier |
| 24. Jelena Ostapenko (13) |
| 25. Petra Kvitova (12) |
| 26. Xiyu Wang |
| 27. Alycia Parks |
| 28. Liudmila Samsonova |
| 29. Marta Kostyuk |
| 30. Elisabetta Cocciaretto |
| 31. Qualifier |
| 32. Ons Jabeur (7) |
| 33. Maria Sakkari (6) |
| 34. Performance BYE |
| 35. Linda Fruhvirtova |
| 36. Arantxa Rus |
| 37. Xinyu Wang |
| 38. Vera Zvonareva |
| 39. Mayar Sherif |
| 40. Daria Kasatkina (11) |
| 41. Veronika Kudermetova (16) |
| 42. Performance BYE |
| 43. Lesia Tsurenko |
| 44. Lin Zhu |
| 45. Sorana Cirstea |
| 46. Petra Martic |
| 47. Ekaterina Alexandrova |
| 48. Coco Gauff (3) |
| 49. Marketa Vondrousova (8) |
| 50. Anhelina Kalinina |
| 51. Daria Saville |
| 52. Katerina Siniakova |
| 53. Marie Bouzkova |
| 54. Qualifier |
| 55. Qualifier |
| 56. Caroline Garcia (9) |
| 57. Victoria Azarenka (14) |
| 58. Magda Linette |
| 59. Jennifer Brady |
| 60. Qualifier |
| 61. Anastasia Potapova |
| 62. Varvara Gracheva |
| 63. Sara Sorribes Tormo |
| 64. Iga Swiatek (2) |
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