The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open will start off with a number of exciting opening-round clashes after Saturday's main-draw ceremony created an enticing bracket. Main-draw action begins on Monday in the U.A.E., kicking off the 2025 Middle East Swing.

The draw at the WTA 500 hard-court event has pitted Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Marketa Vondrousova against each other in the first round. Another Grand Slam champion, Jelena Ostapenko, will meet three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur in the first round.

Abu Dhabi: Draws | Scores | Order of play | 411

Here's a breakdown of the draw highlights (note: the Top 4 seeds receive first-round byes):

First quarter: Defending champion and World No. 5 Elena Rybakina tops the bracket as the No. 1 seed, and will face a qualifier in the second round. Rybakina took the 2024 title as part of her sensational start to last year, where she won three titles in the first four months.

The other end of this quarter holds the clash between former World No. 2 Jabeur and No. 7 seed Ostapenko. Jabeur holds a slim 3-2 lead in their head-to-head. In their most recent meeting, Jabeur cruised past Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4 on the clay of Madrid last year.

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Second quarter: No.4 seed Yulia Putintseva made her Top 20 debut this week, but she is still guaranteed to meet a major champion in her first match at Abu Dhabi. After her bye, Putintseva will face the winner of the match between Raducanu and Vondrousova.

2021 US Open champion Raducanu and 2023 Wimbledon titlist Vondrousova both received wild cards into the main draw. They have split their two previous meetings: Raducanu beat Vondrousova at 2021 Wimbledon, but Vondrousova prevailed at 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

Also in this quarter is 2023 Abu Dhabi champion Belinda Bencic, who received a wild card and will face Rebecca Sramkova in the first round. Bencic reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, which was her first Grand Slam back after maternity leave.

Third quarter: Last year's runner-up Daria Kasatkina is placed here as the No. 3 seed. Kasatkina made six WTA 500 finals last year (including Abu Dhabi) and captured two of those titles (Eastbourne and Ningbo).

Also in this quarter is Ekaterina Alexandrova, who is contesting this week's Linz final. She will face No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez in the first round.

Fourth quarter: Paula Badosa anchors the draw as the No. 2 seed. Former World No. 2 Badosa is back in the Top 10 after making her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open. She will meet either Magdalena Frech or Linda Noskova in the second round.

Abu Dhabi, though, is not the only stop for Hologic WTA Tour action next week...

The WTA 250 Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania will be contested on indoor hardcourts starting on Monday. Former World No. 1 Simona Halep received a wild card for her homeland event.

Cluj-Napoca: Draws | Scores | Order of play

Halep, the 2021 runner-up, will play Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in the first round. The winner of that match will meet either No. 3 seed Peyton Stearns or Varvara Gracheva in the second round.

Other Romanians in the draw include No. 8 seed Jaqueline Cristian, Sorana Cirstea, Irina-Camelia Begu, 2023 runner-up Elena-Gabriela Ruse and last year's runner-up Ana Bogdan.

Anastasia Potapova is the No. 1 seed and will face Julia Grabher in the first round for the second straight event (Potapova beat Grabher 6-2, 6-2 in this week's Linz first round). 2022 champion Anna Blinkova is also in the field and will meet a qualifier in the opening round.