The top two seeds in action on Day 1, No.2 Magdalena Rybarikova and No.3 Lesia Tsurenko, have both had strong results to start 2018 - a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open for the Slovak and a fourth WTA title in Acapulco for the Ukrainian - but neither won a match over the March Sunshine swing. Rybarikova's first opponent, Risa Ozaki, reached the fourth round of Miami last year - but is just 2-17 since the US Open, and has fallen out of the Top 200 this week.
Acapulco champion in 2017 and 2018, Tsurenko is riding a 10-match winning streak on Mexican soil. In her sole previous encounter against her first-round opponent, Nao Hibino, in the 2016 Tashkent quarterfinals, the Japanese player progressed when Tsurenko retired a set down.
No.6 seed Ana Bogdan was the first player to crack the Top 100 in 2018, breaking the barrier after reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Monterrey marks the Romanian's first tournament since Taipei City in February, and she leads the head-to-head 2-0 against her wildcard opponent Victoria Rodriguez - both wins in straight sets.
No.7 seed Sachia Vickery is seeded in a WTA main draw for the first time this week. Her first opponent is former World No.63 Irina Falconi, playing her first match since retiring against Amanda Anisimova in the first round of the Newport Beach 125K event in January.
In the final qualifying round, two players will be bidding to make their WTA main draw debuts: 25-year-old American Sabrina Santamaria, a University of Southern California graduate, and 23-year-old Israeli Deniz Khazaniuk. Indeed, this week also marked Santamaria's first ever WTA qualifying tournament.
ORDER OF PLAY (all courts start 11am)
ESTADIO GNP SEGUROS
Qualifying - Valentini GRAMMATIKOPOULOU (GRE) vs [8] Conny PERRIN (SUI)
Not before 1pm
[WC] Victoria RODRIGUEZ (MEX) vs [6] Ana BOGDAN (ROU)
Anna Karolina SCHMIEDLOVA (SVK) vs [8] Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)
[3] Lesia TSURENKO (UKR) vs Nao HIBINO (JPN)
Not before 8.30pm
Risa OZAKI (JPN) vs [2] Magdalena RYBARIKOVA (SVK)
CANCHA 1
Qualifying - [3] Jasmine PAOLINI (ITA) vs Usue Maitane ARCONADA (USA)
Not before 1pm
Evgeniya RODINA (RUS) vs Alison RISKE (USA)
[7] Sachia VICKERY (USA) vs Irina FALCONI (USA)
[WC] Marcela ZACARIAS (MEX) / Renata ZARAZUA (MEX) vs Valeria SAVINYKH (RUS) / Yana SIZIKOVA (RUS)
CANCHA 2
Qualifying - Sabrina SANTAMARIA (USA) vs [6] Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO)
Qualifying - Deniz KHAZANIUK (ISR) vs [7] Marie BOUZKOVA (CZE)
Jacqueline CAKO (USA) / Cornelia LISTER (SWE) vs Naomi BROADY (GBR) / Sara SORRIBES TORMO (ESP)