The 19th edition of the Korea Open will run from October 9th to 15th at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center, and the draw for this WTA 250 has been released.
At this stage of the season when some of the top players have one eye for the holidays or aspirations for winning more coveted tournaments like the WTA Finals, the likelihood of crowning an unexpected champion is very high. On that note, let us delve into the draw.
Top seed Jessica Pegula leads the top half. She begins her campaign in her mother's birth city against Viktoria Hruncakova. If she wins that match, a second-round match against one of rising star Ashlyn Krueger or former Roland Garros semifinalist Nadia Podoroska awaits.
The second seed is Jelena Ostapenko who is expected to be Pegula's biggest threat this week. After last year's runner-up finish, Ostapenko has unfinished business in Seoul. She opens up against the delightfully named home wild card Dayeon Back who has won 14 of her past 15 matches on the ITF Tour.
Fifth seed Sofia Kenin is in the Latvian's section in the bottom half and could meet her in the quarterfinal stage. Kenin has played herself into form in 2023 after two years in the wilderness. She begins her adventure in South Korea's capital against home player Su Jeong Jang.
If the seedings hold, Marie Bouzkova who is the No. 4 seed is likely to confront Ostapenko in the semifinal. But the Czech's up and down season means she could be vulnerable to an upset right out of the gate. Bouzkova faces recent Top 100 entrant Kayla Day and could meet British No. 1 Katie Boulter in the quarterfinal.
Boulter has a seemingly tough opener herself against Kaja Juvan, and the possibility of an unseeded player making the deep end of the draw in this section is very high. The third seed Ekaterina Alexandrova is set to battle Japan's Mai Hontama who gave a good account of herself during the tournament in Tokyo.
Big-serving American Alycia Parks takes on the younger sister of Top 20 player Veronika Kudermetova, Polina, in her opener. If the American is successful she could face Kathinka Von Deichmann or a qualifier in her next round. Parks could cross paths with Yanina Wickmayer whom she recently had a spat with during a doubles match in Beijing.
Wickmayer, however, will need to beat a qualifier in her opening round and potentially pull off the upset by knocking out third-seeded Alexandrova next. For a full draw breakdown at the 2023 Korea Open, be sure to check it below.
2023 Korea Open Seoul WTA Draw:
| 1. Jessica Pegula (1) |
| 2. Viktoria Hruncakova |
| 3. Nadia Podoroska |
| 4. Ashlyn Krueger |
| 5. Claire Liu |
| 6. Qualifier |
| 7. Na Lae Han |
| 8. Arantxa Rus (7) |
| 9. Ekaterina Alexandrova (3) |
| 10. Mai Hontama |
| 11. Qualifier |
| 12. Yanina Wickmayer |
| 13. Kathinka Von Deichmann |
| 14. Qualifier |
| 15. Polina Kudermetova |
| 16. Alycia Parks (6) |
| 17. Katie Boulter (8) |
| 18. Kaja Juvan |
| 19. Bernarda Pera |
| 20. Yue Yuan |
| 21. Eva Lys |
| 22. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova |
| 23. Kayla Day |
| 24. Marie Bouzkova (4) |
| 25. Sofia Kenin (5) |
| 26. Su Jeong Jang |
| 27. Laura Pigossi |
| 28. Emina Bektas |
| 29. Qualifier |
| 30. Kimberly Birrell |
| 31. Dayeon Back |
| 32. Jelena Ostapenko (2) |
0 Comments