Photos: The players contesting their first WTA main draw in 2023
There were 55 players who competed in a WTA main draw for the first time in 2023, including Ningbo finalist Diana Shnaider, Budapest champion Maria Timofeeva and junior Grand Slam winners Alina Korneeva and Clervie Ngounoue.
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No.321-ranked Malene Helgø made her tour-level debut at the United Cup as the Norwegian No.2, where she kept Martina Trevisan on court for over three hours in her second meeting with a Top 30 opponent.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Gergana Topalova, 22, competed as a substitute for Bulgaria at the United Cup. The World No.324 took Elise Mertens to three sets in her first meeting with a Top 100 player.
Will Russell/Getty Images
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No.193-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 20, was a substitute on the Spanish United Cup team, and was victorious on her debut over Olivia Gadecki.
Steve Christo/Corbis/Getty Images
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Doubles No.30 Erin Routliffe, 27, made her singles tour debut at home in Auckland as a wild card. The New Zealander fell in three sets to Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round.
ASB Classic
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Talia Gibson, 18, cut her ranking from No.1200 to No.364 over the course of 2022 with a 50-21 record. The Australian received a wild card for Hobart, falling to Tatjana Maria in the first round.
Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
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No.182-ranked Polina Kudermetova, 19, came through her first Grand Slam qualifying event at the Australian Open. The younger sister of Veronika fell to Olivia Gadecki in Round 1.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Having rocketed from unranked to No.105 in the previous 15 months, 18-year-old Diana Shnaider qualified for the Australian Open and made Round 2, where she took Maria Sakkari to three sets.
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
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Unranked just nine months ago, 18-year-old Lanlana Tararudee rocketed to No.365 after winning the Nonthaburi ITF W40 in January. The Thai teenager received a wild card into Hua Hin, falling to Mirjam Bjorklund in Round 1.
2023 Thailand Open presented by E@
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Unranked American Fiona Crawley, 21, received a Charleston wild card after compiling a 35-1 season record playing for the University of North Carolina and becoming the No.1-ranked college player in the U.S.
Charleston Tennis LLC
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Rosa Vicens Mas, 22, has cut her ranking from No.431 to No.186 over the past year after winning three ITF W25 titles. The Spaniard qualified for Bogota and fell to Peyton Stearns in Round 1.
Copa Colsanitas
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Former Top 50 junior Antonia Samudio, 22, received a wild card for her home tournament in Bogota. The No.1077-ranked Colombian fell to Laura Pigossi in Round 1.
Copa Colsanitas
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Two Italians received wild cards to make their WTA main draw debuts in Rome. Diletta Cherubini, 20, has cut her ranking from No.764 at the end of 2021 to her current No.421, and fell in Round 1 to Lisa Pigato.
Foro Archivio FITP
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No.508-ranked Dalila Spiteri, 26, was the winner of the pre-qualifying tournament in Rome for a wild card, and fell to Caty McNally in the first round.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Argentina's Julia Riera, 20, came into Rabat having won 17 of her past 18 matches and cut her ranking from No.507 to No.195 over the previous 12 months. She went all the way to the semifinals via upsets of Mayar Sherif and Yulia Putintseva.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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No.255-ranked Sada Nahimana, 22, became the first Burundian player to contest a WTA main draw in Rabat. The former junior No.12 fell to Jana Fett in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Having cut her ranking from No.1194 to No.278 over the previous 12 months, Tatiana Prozorova qualified for Rabat. The 19-year-old took Tatjana Maria to three sets in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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No.289-ranked Angela Fita Boluda, 23, was a lucky loser in Rabat. The Spaniard, champion at the 2022 Brescia ITF W60, put up a good fight against Leylah Fernandez in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Two promising Moroccan teenagers received wild cards for Rabat. Malak El Allami, 16, is the junior No.45 and fell 6-3, 6-3 to Kamilla Rakhimova in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Aya El Aouni, the junior No.29, also received a Rabat wild card. The 17-year-old Moroccan fell 6-1, 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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France's Sarah Iliev, 16, was a qualifying wild card in Strasbourg and made it to the main draw via wins over Ellen Perez and Bai Zhuoxuan. The World No.686 fell to Lauren Davis in Round 1.
Christoph de Barry/C'est qui Maurice?
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China's No.209-ranked Bai Zhuoxuan was a lucky loser in Strasbourg and held match points against Varvara Gracheva in Round 1. The 20-year-old was a former junior No.9 and owns an 83-20 record since October 2021.
Olivier Renaud/WTA
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No.420-ranked qualifying wild card Emily Appleton, 23, upset Katrina Scott and Emiliana Arango to reach the Nottingham main draw, where she fell to fellow Briton Katie Boulter in Round 1.
Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA
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Türkiye's Zeynep Sonmez, 21, qualified for 's-Hertogenbosch and pushed Bianca Andreescu to two tight sets in Round 1. Sonmez had risen from No.534 to No.217 over the previous 12 months.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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No.202-ranked Swiss wild card Celine Naef, 17, had a memorable debut in 's-Hertogenbosch, defeating Venus Williams and Caty McNally to make the quarterfinals. Former junior No.4 Naef extended her 2023 record to 30-8 as a result.
Marleen Fournier
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Mia Ristic, 17, battled for 7 hours and 35 minutes across two matches to qualify in Palermo. The No.443-ranked Serb saved two match points against Cagla Buyukakcay, then three against Kathinka Von Deichmann.
Palermo Ladies Open
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No.312-ranked Eva Vedder qualified for Palermo and fell to Emma Navarro in Round 1. The 23-year-old Dutchwoman had cut her year-end ranking from No.511 to No.232 in 2022.
Palermo Ladies Open
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No.603-ranked qualifying wild card Aurora Zantedeschi, 22, made it through to the main draw in Palermo, where the Italian pulled off multiple hot shots in her first-round loss to Diane Parry.
Palermo Ladies Open
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Francesca Curmi, 21, became the first Maltese player to compete in a WTA main draw after becoming a lucky loser in Palermo. Curmi's ranking had risen from No.1044 to No.326 over the previous 14 months.
Palermo Ladies Open
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Former junior No.14 Sofya Lansere was a lucky loser in Palermo, where the No.353-ranked 22-year-old advanced to Round 2 following Olga Danilovic's retirement.
Palermo Ladies Open
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In Budapest, No.246-ranked Maria Timofeeva, 19, became the fourth lucky loser to win a WTA event and the ninth player to do so on her debut. Timofeeva was the second to do both following Olga Danilovic at the 2018 Moscow River Cup.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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No.377-ranked Anna Siskova, 22, qualified for Budapest (defeating eventual champion Maria Timofeeva en route), and the Czech won her first WTA main draw match 6-3, 6-0 over Evgeniya Rodina.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Former junior No.28 Amarissa Toth, 20, received a wild card in Budapest. The No.548-ranked Hungarian won her first tour-level match via retirement over No.2 seed Zhang Shuai.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Noma Noha Akugue, 19, reached the Hamburg final on her WTA debut via wins over Martina Trevisan and Diana Shnaider. The German had cut her ranking from No.1095 to No.207 over the previous 14 months.
Hamburg European Open/Witters
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Germany's Ella Seidel, 18, received a wild card for Hamburg after cutting her ranking from No.1047 to No.309 over the previous 12 months. The former junior No.19 stretched Jule Niemeier in a 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3 Round 1 loss.
Hamburg European Open/Witters
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No.442-ranked Swiss player Jenny Duerst was a qualifying wild card in Lausanne. The 24-year-old entered the main draw as a lucky loser, falling to Danka Kovinic in Round 1.
Tnani Badreddine/WTA
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Former junior No.34 Weronika Ewald, 17, received a wild card in Warsaw. The No.1076-ranked Pole lost to Rebecca Sramkova in Round 1.
Michal Jedrzejewski/BNP Paribas Warsaw Open
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Gabriela Knutson, 26, began her pro career in 2022 after graduating with two Masters degrees from Durham University. The Czech had risen to No.227 by June 2023; she qualified for Prague and stretched Tereza Martincova to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Wimbledon junior champion Clervie Ngounoue, 17, received a wild card for the US Open after winning the USTA Girls 18s Nationals. The No.494-ranked American fell to Daria Saville in Round 1.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Washington University alumna Stacey Fung, 26, was a direct entrant to Guadalajara. The No.226-ranked Canadian, who had won seven ITF titles over the previous two years, stretched Marta Kostyuk to three sets in Round 1.
Guadalajara Open Akron
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Doubles No.13 Demi Schuurs played her eighth WTA singles qualifying event in Guadalajara. The Dutchwoman, 30, made it to the main draw with wins over Isabella Shinikova and Elvina Kalieva.
Guadalajara Open Akron
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Having already won her first ITF W15 title in Cancun the previous year, 16-year-old Lya Isabel Fernandez Olivares of Mexico received a wild card to Guadalajara, falling to Hailey Baptiste in Round 1.
Guadalajara Open Akron
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Yang Ya-Yi, 19, cut her ranking from No.522 to No.236 in just three months after sweeping four ITF titles. The Chinese Taipei teenager took her form into Guangzhou, where she qualified for the main draw.
Huang Jinwen/WTA
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Japan's Sakura Hosogi, 23, was a lucky loser in Tokyo and fell to Despina Papamichail in a close first round. No.256-ranked Hosogi had won 13 of her first 15 matches of 2023, reaching three consecutive ITF finals (winning one).
Rokuro Inoue/Toray PPO Tennis
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Reigning NCAA champion Tian Fangran received a wild card for Beijing ahead of her sophomore year at UCLA. The Chinese 20-year-old fell to Linda Noskova in Round 1.
China Open/VCG
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As a qualifying wild card on home soil, No.540-ranked Ku Yeonwoo came through to the Seoul main draw, falling to Claire Liu in Round 1. Ku, 20, was a former Top 50 junior and a three-time ITF titlist.
Hana Bank Korea Open
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Reigning Australian Open and Roland Garros junior champion Alina Korneeva, 16, qualified for Hong Kong and defeated Valeria Savinykh to reach Round 2. Her ranking had shot from No.765 to No.179 over the previous year.
Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
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Former junior No.18 and three-time ITF titlist Hong Yi Cody Wong, 21, received a wild card on home soil in Hong Kong. The World No.342 fell to Sofya Lansere in Round 1.
Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
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Over the past seven years, Ilona-Georgiana Ghioroaie has won 16 ITF titles. The 25-year-old Romanian, ranked No.371, played her first WTA qualifying event in Cluj-Napoca and made the main draw.
Petean Calin Florin/WTA
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Having shot from No.801 to No.328 in less than a year, 19-year-old Ukrainian Anastasiya Soboleva qualified for Cluj-Napoca and stretched Anna Bondar to three sets in Round 1.
Ramona Toderas/WTA
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University of Tulsa graduate Martha Matoula, 26, qualified for Cluj-Napoca. The No.327-ranked Greek player fell to Patricia Maria Tig in an entertaining Round 1 tilt.
Ramona Toderas/WTA
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China's Wei Sijia, 19, has won seven ITF titles since June 2022. The World No.300 qualified for Nanchang and fell to Kimberly Birrell in a tight first round.
Jiangxi Open
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Two weeks after reaching a career-high of No.223, China's Ma Ye-Xin qualified for Nanchang. The 24-year-old had reached her first ITF W60 final in Kurume in May.
Jiangxi Open
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China's Jiang Xinyu, 24, received a wild card in Nanchang after compiling a 31-9 season record to reach a career-high of No.511 -- having been unranked at the start of May.
Jiangxi Open
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Wang Yuhan, 16, received a wild card in Nanchang. The unranked Chinese teenager took six games from Katerina Siniakova in just her third pro tournament.
Jiangxi Open
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Since July 2021, Latvia's Darja Semenistaja has compiled a 14-1 record in ITF finals, including three titles at W60 level in 2023. At a career high of No.129, the 21-year-old made her WTA debut as a direct entrant in Monastir.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
