WTA tennis returns to North Africa for the second time this season as the second edition of the Tunisia Open hosts 32 determined women in the coastal city of Monastir.
The draw for the event has just been released. The buzz that surrounded the build-up has evaporated, as the home crowd favourite Ons Jabeur will not compete at the tournament. Therefore, the top seed will be Italy's Jasmine Paolini.
But there is still a lot to be excited about this year's field as we get to see the unheralded players on the ITF Tour who have featured sporadically on the main tour get a bite of Tour-level action. This will be a chance to collect a decent paycheck with a slight increase in prize money in addition to vying for a WTA title.
After a semifinal run in Zhengzhou, Jasmine Paolini will look to do even better in Monastir, beginning with a first-round match against Alize Cornet. The French veteran recently fell outside the world's Top 100 for the first time since 2012, but has made back-to-back semifinals at 125K level coming to Tunisia.
Marina Bassols Ribera will play wild card Petra Marcinko who has captured three ITF titles this season including a W60 in Caldas da Rainha. Whoever wins this clash could book a meeting against the top-seeded Italian.
Paolini is slated to meet fellow Italian Lucia Bronzetti in the quarterfinal. Bronzetti bagged a title on African soil when she streaked to win in Rabat, Morocco, during the clay swing. She'll be seeking a debut win in Monastir when she opens up against Kristina Kucova.
Lesia Tsurenko is also in the top half. But it remains to be seen if the 34-year-old has recovered from her recent retirement in Zhengzhou. She starts her week against a qualifier and is guaranteed to play an American in the next round if she gets there, as Emina Bektas plays Claire Liu.
Last year's champion Elise Mertens is in the bottom half of the draw. She will start her title defense against a qualifier and will play one of Laura Pigossi or Iryna Shymanovich in the next round. The highest-ranked player the Belgian could face before the semifinal is World No. 59 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Also in the bottom half, Martina Trevisan, the No. 3 seed, will battle wild card Katarzyna Kawa and might run into fellow Italian Lucrezia Stefanini in the next round, provided she can navigate her opening match against a qualifier.
2023 Tunisia Open Monastir WTA Draw:
| 1. Jasmine Paolini (1) |
| 2. Alize Cornet |
| 3. Marina Bassols Ribera |
| 4. Petra Marcinko |
| 5. Tamara Zidansek |
| 6. Sara Errani |
| 7. Kristina Kucova |
| 8. Lucia Bronzetti (6) |
| 9. Lesia Tsurenko (4) |
| 10. Qualifier |
| 11. Claire Liu |
| 12. Emina Bektas |
| 13. Qualifier |
| 14. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro |
| 15. Nuria Parrizas Diaz |
| 16. Magdalena Frech (7) |
| 17. Clara Burel (8) |
| 18. Cristina Bucsa |
| 19. Darja Semenistaja |
| 20. Erika Andreeva |
| 21. Lucrezia Stefanini |
| 22. Qualifier |
| 23. Katarzyna Kawa |
| 24. Martina Trevisan (3) |
| 25. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (5) |
| 26. Nadia Podoroska |
| 27. Aliona Bolsova |
| 28. Mai Hontama |
| 29. Laura Pigossi |
| 30. Iryna Shymanovich |
| 31. Qualifier |
| 32. Elise Mertens (2) |
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