The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix main draw came out on Sunday, and a typically loaded field, featuring eight of the Top 10 players, made for enticing matchups at the WTA 500 indoor clay event.
Main-draw play begins in Stuttgart on Monday. Here is a breakdown of the bracket:
First quarter
Defending champion and World No.1 Iga Swiatek heads the field at the top of the draw. After her first-round bye, Swiatek will meet either Zheng Qinwen or a qualifier in the second round.
Back on red clay 🧡
— wta (@WTA) April 16, 2023
The defending @PorscheTennis champ is back, @iga_swiatek! pic.twitter.com/B3Ox3L0rh4
Zheng was the only player to win a set off Swiatek during the No.1 seed's run to the Roland Garros title last year.
If Swiatek can make it into the quarterfinals, potential opponents for her include No.8 seed Maria Sakkari or 2018 champion Karolina Pliskova. Sakkari and Pliskova, who will face off in the first round, have a deadlocked head-to-head with three wins apiece.
Second quarter
The second quarter is led by No.3 seed Ons Jabeur, who is guaranteed to face a Grand Slam champion in the second round after her bye -- either 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko or 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who will meet in the first round.
Stuttgart 2023: Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know
If seedings hold, Jabeur could play No.6 seed Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. Reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina meets German No.1 Jule Niemeier in the first round.
Meanwhile in Stuttgart... 😋
— wta (@WTA) April 15, 2023
Revving up for some #PorscheTennis! pic.twitter.com/7gWCUwLuTt
Third quarter
The highest-ranked player in the third quarter is No.4 seed Caroline Garcia, who will play either German No.2 Tatjana Maria or a qualifier after her first-round bye.
Also in this quarter, No.5 seed Coco Gauff will face one of the highest-ranked unseeded players, No.13 Veronika Kudermetova, in the first round. Kudermetova defeated Gauff in their only previous meeting, in Doha earlier this year.
World No.10 and 2019 champion Petra Kvitova was originally in this section, but she withdrew from the tournament due to a right foot injury. Her spot in the draw will be filled by a qualifier or lucky loser.
Fourth quarter
No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who finished runner-up in Stuttgart the last two years, anchors the bottom quarter. Sabalenka is guaranteed to face a Top 15 player after her bye -- she will meet the winner of the first-round match between Barbora Krejcikova and Liudmila Samsonova.
At the other side of that quarter is an opening-round showdown between No.7 seed Daria Kasatkina and former World No.2 Paula Badosa. Kasatkina has a 2-1 lead over Badosa in their rivalry, with all three of their contested meetings coming last year.