WUHAN, ChinaThe Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open draw is out, and when the second leg of the Asian Swing’s back-to-back WTA 1000 events begins on Monday, there might be fireworks.
With most players arriving from Beijing, the singles draw is a mix of experienced veterans—like two-time winner Aryna Sabalenka, the heavy favorite and top seed who earned back-to-back wins here in 2018 and 2019.
Still, a number of well-known athletes who have never participated in this event before, including as No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, are making their WTA Tour comeback.
Sabalenka and Gauff, who are positioned at the top of the draw, are headed for a semifinal showdown, with the American winning their match 4-3. In the most recent instance, Sabalenka defeated Gauff in the semifinals of the Australian Open to win the title, exacting revenge on the American for losing to him in the 2023 US Open final.
In the second round, Sabalenka will face the victor of Katerina Siniakova and wildcard Alexandra Eala, while Gauff will play her first match against either Ashlyn Krueger or Viktoriya Tomova.
Seeds like No. 6 Emma Navarro, who might face Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, No. 8 Daria Kasatkina, and No. 14 Marta Kostyuk, who both fell into Gauff’s section, are also included in their part of the draw.
Navarro was positioned as the fifth seed against Zheng Qinwen, whom the American had infamously called “cut-throat” during a heated post-match confrontation at the Olympics. Zheng, a Hubei native who trained in Wuhan as a young girl, will be competing for the first time in her hometown event’s main draw.
Zheng, who was 16 when he lost in this year’s first qualifying round, is returning as the current Olympic gold medalist and a Top 10 contender. She is in the winner’s circle between Camila Osorio and Jaqueline Cristian, the wild card; No. 3 Jasmine Paolini and No. 16 Mirra Andreeva both fell into her division.
The second seed Similar to Zheng, Jessica Pegula anchored the lower part of the draw and is among the athletes eager to create new memories in Wuhan. When Pegula last participated in this tournament, it was in 2019 during her Top 100 breakthrough season. In her opening match, she lost 6-0, 6-1 to Polona Hercog.
Anticipate Pegula to win “more than one game” as she awaits the winner of Anastasia Potapova and wildcard Katie Volynets in the second round. Five years later, Pegula is a Grand Slam finalist and a Top 5 fixture.
Pegula’s division also includes Barbora Krejcikova, ranked seventh, who might face Pegula in the quarterfinals, and Paula Badosa, ranked fourteen, who defeated the American in Beijing last week in straight sets.
