The 2023 Jiangxi Open will be played in the industrialized city of Nanchang from October 16th through 22nd, and the draw for this year's event has been released.
This WTA 250 event offers the lower-ranked players a chance to lift a WTA title. But there are plenty of experienced heads in the 32-player field featuring three Top 30 players who could halt that dream. In the past, Chinese players have enjoyed massive success at the tournament from the days when it was contested at the 125K level.
Rebecca Peterson is the only foreign player to walk away with the trophy from Nanchang back in 2019 when she beat Elena Rybakina. But it appears the Swede is nursing an injury, having not played since the US Open over a month ago, so we are guaranteed a new champion.
The top seed is Beatriz Haddad Maia who will be expected to charge past Japan's Nao Hibino in her opener. Hibino is winless in her last four main draw matches at all levels and it is tough to see her ending her drought against the accomplished Brazilian lefty.
Second seed Magda Linette has been in very good form at the Asian swing, reaching a final at her last WTA 250 event in Guangzhou. She'll open up against Valeria Savinykh, ranked over 100 spots below the Pole in the rankings.
Third seed Marie Bouzkova will face China's rising star Xiyu Wang in what could be a potential roadblock for the experienced Czech. Another Chinese player looking to make an impact on home soil is Lin Zhu, a finalist in Tokyo during the Asian swing, who will play Russian teenager Diana Shnaider to start her campaign.
Russia's Anna Blinkova lost in the semifinals in Hong Kong to Leylah Fernandez. She might earn a shot at redemption here after landing in the same section of the draw as the Canadian. Blinkova will need to beat a qualifier or a lucky loser in her opening match. Likewise, Fernandez will need to navigate past Hanyu Guo to set up a rematch.
Another first-round match that could be worth everyone's time is that pitting Xinyu Wang against Laura Siegemund while France's Varvara Gracheva will take on Kamilla Rakhimova, in what looks like a very competitive bottom half of the draw.
2023 Jiangxi Open Nanchang WTA Draw:
| 1. Beatriz Haddad Maia (1) |
| 2. Nao Hibino |
| 3. Qualifier |
| 4. Kimberly Birrell |
| 5. Vera Zvonareva |
| 6. Arianne Hartono |
| 7. Diana Shnaider |
| 8. Lin Zhu (5) |
| 9. Marie Bouzkova (3) |
| 10. Xiyu Wang |
| 11. Elina Avanesyan |
| 12. Qualifier |
| 13. Camila Osorio |
| 14. Qualifier |
| 15. Xinyu Jiang |
| 16. Sara Sorribes Tormo (8) |
| 17. Varvara Gracheva (7) |
| 18. Kamilla Rakhimova |
| 19. Yuhan Wang |
| 20. Katerina Siniakova |
| 21. Qualifier |
| 22. Kaja Juvan |
| 23. Laura Siegemund |
| 24. Xinyu Wang (4) |
| 25. Anna Blinkova (6) |
| 26. Qualifier |
| 27. Leylah Fernandez |
| 28. Hanyu Guo |
| 29. Viktoria Hruncakova |
| 30. Aliaksandra Sasnovich |
| 31. Valeria Savinykh |
| 32. Magda Linette (2) |
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