The 2024 Libema Open is one of the first grass-court tournaments, as the WTA 250 event will run from June 10th until 16th, and the draw was released.
After weeks spent on clay, tennis players will play on the grass for the first time since last year. The Libema Open in Den Bosch has quickly grown to be a very respectable event, as this year's edition will feature some really big names.
Chief among those is Naomi Osaka, who almost beat Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros recently. Considering how the Polish player won the event, Osaka's performance looks even more impressive.
Grass is not a surface she knows too well, but she's keen to improve and will make a start against the fourth-seeded Elise Mertens.
That's a brutal draw for her because the Belgian outplayed her at the Indian Wells Open a few months ago. If the former world no. 1 wins that match, she'll face either Bernarda Pera or Suzan Lamens.
The top seed at the event is Jessica Pegula who hasn't played on clay at all. The American had an injury and simply decided to focus on her recovery and return on grass. She will start her grass season against one of the qualifiers.
Bianca Andreescu is also back to tennis, with her Roland Garros campaign being pretty solid. She was beaten by eventual finalist Jasmine Paolini, and that's not too bad considering that she lacks matches.
Her season will continue in Den Bosch, where she'll also play against one of the qualifiers in the first round. If she wins, she'll play against Yuan Yue or Diana Shnaider, who are both tricky players.
Another fascinating round-one matchup is between Clara Tauson and Jule Niemeier, which is a hard-hitting contest that should delight the crowd in the Dutch city.
| Player | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Jessica Pegula (1) | Qualifier |
| Aleksandra Krunic | Qualifier |
| Qualifier | Arantxa Rus |
| Zhuoxuan Bai | Veronika Kudermetova (5) |
| Elise Mertens (4) | Naomi Osaka |
| Bernarda Pera | Suzan Lamens |
| Bianca Andreescu | Qualifier |
| Diana Shnaider | Yue Yuan (6) |
| Magda Linette (8) | Qualifier |
| Clara Tauson | Jule Niemeier |
| Anna Blinkova | Emina Bektas |
| Arina Rodionova | Ekaterina Alexandrova (3) |
| Donna Vekic (7) | Tamara Korpatsch |
| Greet Minnen | Rebeka Masarova |
| Qualifier | Celine Naef |
| Alison Van Uytvanck | Liudmila Samsonova (2) |