Doha draw: Former champs and eight of Top 10 in year's first WTA 1000

Another outstanding draw is set for the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, with eight of the Top 10 and a number of former champions in the season's first WTA 1000 event. The main draw starts on Sunday in Doha.

Aryna Sabalenka

View Profile of Belarus is at the top of the draw as the No.1 seed. World No.2 Sabalenka, who defeated Petra Kvitova for the Doha title in 2020, seeks to move past a second-round loss to Kvitova in this week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

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Sabalenka and the other Top 8 seeds have first-round byes in the 56-player draw. In the second round, Sabalenka will meet either Liudmila Samsonova

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Other seeds in the top quarter are No.7 Iga Swiatek

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Read more: Everything you need to know about Doha 2022

Vera Zvonareva, the 2011 Doha champion and 2008 runner-up, received a wildcard and is also in the top quarter, where she will play Alison van Uytvanck in her opener.

The second quarter is led by No.3 seed Paula Badosa

View Profile of Spain, who has a tricky second-round clash against either recent Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic

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No.6 seed Maria Sakkari

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Two Americans are the other seeded players in this quarter, No.9 Jessica Pegula

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View Profile . Gauff will play another American, Shelby Rogers, in the first round.

Looming as an unseeded player in the second quarter is former World No.1 Simona Halep, who defeated Kerber for the 2014 Doha title. Halep will face wildcard Caroline Garcia

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No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia and No.8 seed Ons Jabeur

View Profile of Tunisia head up the third quarter. This quarter also features No.10 seed Elina Svitolina

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Belgium's Mertens won the Doha title in 2019 when she surprised Halep with a comeback from a set down in that year's final. Mertens will meet Jasmine Paolini

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The winner of the Mertens-Paolini match could meet defending champion Kvitova in the second round. Kvitova won the Doha title in 2018 and last year, along with her 2020 runner-up showing.

Kvitova will face off against Irina-Camelia Begu

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The bottom quarter holds No.2 seed Barbora Krejcikova

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No.12 seed Victoria Azarenka

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Also in the bottom quarter is No.15 seed Jelena Ostapenko

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