PALERMO, Italy - The main draw is out at the 31st Palermo Ladies Open, and there is plenty of action in store as three of the WTA’s Top 20 players lead the International field to kick off the resumption of the WTA tour.
World No.15 Petra Martic is the top seed, and had recorded a positive start to her 2020 season with a semifinal run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Croatian player is looking to back up the best season of her career after claiming the title in Istanbul and reaching a final in Zhengzhou as well as her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
Read more: Martic relishes return: 'To be back on court is a privilege'
Martic will kick off her Palermo campaign against the tricky Alison Van Uytvanck, and could face No.5 seed Elise Mertens should they both advance to the quarterfinals. Mertens, last year’s Doha champion, could face Daria Kastakina in the second round. Meanwhile, No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit and No.6 Donna Vekic could meet in the quarterfinals.
The first Main Draw after five months 👀#PLO20 @wta pic.twitter.com/ESFCo35gdR
— Palermo Ladies Open (@LadiesOpenPA) August 1, 2020
French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova is back in WTA action after a wrist injury forced her to shut down her 2019 season after Wimbledon. The 21-year-old Czech showed promising signs in her first tournament of the season, reaching the quarterfinals at the Adelaide International.
In photos: Perfect in Palermo: From Szavay to Teichmann
Vondrousova, the No.2 seed, could face Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals, while an unseeded Camilia Giorgi threatens to shake up the section.
No.5 seed @elise_mertens getting familiar with the clay at the @LadiesOpenPA ☀️🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/QFwHRWBJSB
— wta (@WTA) August 1, 2020
Rounding up the action, Maria Sakkari faces the big serving Kristyna Pliskova in a tricky opening round test. The Greek player seeded No.3, and she anchors a section full of potential upsets including an unseeded Kristina Mladenovic, who takes on No.8 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Read more: Bolsova, Gracheva lead Palermo qualifying draw
Italian wildcard and former Top 5 player Sara Errani also landed in Sakkari’s section, and is set to face Sorana Cirstea in the opening round. Errani was one of two Italians who received wildcards into the Palermo event, along with 19-year-old Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Main draw action at the 31st Palermo Ladies Open kicks off on Monday, August 3, while the qualifying rounds began play on Saturday.
