The main draw for the Credit One Charleston Open came out on Saturday, and fireworks are already expected on the green clay of South Carolina.
Top 10 players Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina and defending champion Belinda Bencic lead the field at the first WTA 500-level tournament of the 2023 clay-court season.
Charleston 2023: Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know
Elina Svitolina also makes her return to Hologic WTA Tour action in Charleston after her year-long maternity leave. Former World No.3 Svitolina and her husband, ATP pro Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter Skaï in October.
Main-draw play kicks off on Monday, with 56 players vying for the prestigious title. The Credit One Charleston Open is the longest-running all-women's tournament in the United States.
Main draw at Charleston (WTA 500), where Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina, and Belinda Bencic are the top seeds. pic.twitter.com/abNug1tmei
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 1, 2023
Top half: No.1 seed Pegula sits at the top of the draw with a first-round bye (the Top 8 seeds all receive first-round byes). American No.1 Pegula could face 2021 Charleston champion and No.5 seed Veronika Kudermetova in the quarterfinals, if seeds hold.
Other players in Pegula's section include 2021 Charleston semifinalist and No.12 seed Paula Badosa, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and rising American Alycia Parks.
Bencic, who won the sixth of her eight career WTA singles titles in Charleston last year, heads the second quarter as the No.4 seed. Bencic could face No.7 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, a Miami quarterfinalist this week, in the last eight if seeds go to form.
Svitolina is also in the second quarter, where she will play her first match on tour since Miami just over a year ago. In the first round, Svitolina will square off against three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Yulia Putintseva, with the winner to meet Alexandrova in the second round.
Also in the second quarter is an intriguing all-American first-rounder between No.13 seed Danielle Collins and Charleston native Shelby Rogers.
Wholesome content 🤗@paulabadosa 🤜🤛 @Ons_Jabeur#CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/gfyFIaqeQi
— Credit One Charleston Open (@CharlestonOpen) April 1, 2023
Bottom half: 2017 Charleston champion Kasatkina heads up the third quarter as the No.3 seed. If Kasatkina holds her seed to the quarterfinals, she could possibly face No.8 seed and 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette, or No.9 seed and 2019 champion Madison Keys.
Jabeur, last year's runner-up to Bencic, anchors the bottom quarter as the No.2 seed. At the other side of the bottom quarter, former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka is the No.6 seed, and she could be a quarterfinal foe for Jabeur.
2016 Charleston champion Sloane Stephens could potentially be a tricky second-round opponent for Azarenka. Also in the bottom quarter, No.14 seed Jil Teichmann will meet Czech teen Linda Fruhvirtova in an eye-opening first-round clash.