The North American summer hard-court season is officially underway, as the main draw for the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. was made on Saturday.
Washington, D.C.: Draws | Scores | Order of Play | 411
Washington’s own Hailey Baptiste, ranked a career-high World No. 48, was on hand to help kick off the hard-court swing. Six events will take place in the next seven weeks throughout the continent, culminating with the US Open.
There will be 28 women vying for this year’s Washington title to kick off the summer. The top four seeds receive first-round byes.
Here’s a quick review of the Washington main draw:
First quarter
World No. 4 Jessica Pegula leads the field as the No. 1 seed. Pegula won her first career WTA singles title right here in Washington, six years ago in 2019.
After her first-round bye, Pegula is guaranteed to face a Top 40 player in the second round: either 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez or Maya Joint, the Australian teenager who has already won two titles this year.
The other side of this quarter features an all-American first round clash between Baptiste and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Second quarter
Venus Williams will play her first tour match in 16 months in this quarter. The 45-year-old Williams, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, will take on fellow American Peyton Stearns in the first round.
At the top of this quarter is No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion. After her bye, she will face either rapidly rising Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko or Anastasia Potapova.
Third quarter
Clara Tauson of Denmark is the No. 4 seed and received the first-round bye in this quarter. Tauson is enjoying her first week as a Top 20 player following her second-week run at Wimbledon.
At the other end of this quarter, former Top 10 player Danielle Collins of the United States will take on No. 8 seed Magda Linette of Poland in the first round.
Fourth quarter
Another American, Emma Navarro, anchors the draw as the No. 2 seed. After her first-round bye, she will meet either 2023 Washington finalist Maria Sakkari or Katie Boulter.
This quarter also features two major champions. 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu meets No. 7 seed Marta Kostyuk in the first round, and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka faces Yulia Putintseva in her opener.