Photos: Laura Samson and all of 2024's WTA main-draw debuts
Forty-two players competed in a WTA main draw for the first time in 2024. They included Laura Samson, who became the youngest player to reach a WTA semifinal since 2019 on her debut in Prague.
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University of Florida alumna McCartney Kessler, 24, successfully came through her second career WTA qualifying draw in Auckland. The No.217-ranked American had improved from No.945 one year previously.
Tim Marshall/ASB Classic
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New Zealand's Monique Barry, 21, earned an Auckland wild card after winning a pre-event play-off. In her first match against a Top 100 player, the World No.649 pushed Elina Avanesyan to a first-set tiebreak in the first round.
Tim Marshall/ASB Classic
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Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva, 23, qualified for the Australian Open, falling to Ons Jabeur in Round 1. The Old Dominion University graduate had been unranked one year previously, and had only played two tour-level qualifying events before.
Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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Iowa State University graduate Thasaporn Naklo, 22, was a Hua Hin wild card and took Yulia Putintseva to three sets in Round 1. The No.406-ranked Thai had turned pro and won her first three ITF titles in 2023.
Fast Eddy/WTA
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Having climbed from No.821 to No.230 over the previous 12 months, Romania's Anca Todoni received a wild card in Cluj-Napoca. The 19-year-old fell to Erika Andreeva in Round 1.
Horvath Tamas/Getty Images
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Katherine Hui, the 2023 US Open junior champion and now a student at Stanford University, received a wild card in San Diego. The 19-year-old American, ranked No.872, fell to Donna Vekic in Round 1.
Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
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No.286-ranked Liv Hovde, the 2022 Wimbledon junior champion, notched the second and third Top 100 wins of her career over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Harriet Dart to qualify for Indian Wells. The 18-year-old American fell to Lesia Tsurenko in Round 1.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Valentina Mediorreal Arias, 17, received a Bogota wild card a month after winning the Medellin J300 junior event. The unranked Colombian took Kamilla Rakhimova to three sets in Round 1.
Jaime López/WTA
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Mariana Isabel Higuita Barraza, 16, was another Colombian teenager who received a wild card in Bogota. She fell to Renata Zarazua in the first round.
Copa Colsanitas Zurich
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Three-time ITF titlist Alice Robbe, 23, received a wild card for Rouen. The No.265-ranked Frenchwoman fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Round 1.
Maxime Le Pihif
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Giorgia Pedone reached her first ITF W60 final in June 2023 in Rome, and a year later the No.270-ranked Italian 19-year-old received a wild card at the WTA 1000 event to make her tour-level debut. She fell to Rebecca Sramkova in Round 1.
FITP
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Another Italian teenager, unranked 17-year-old Vittoria Paganetti, earned a Rome wild card by coming through the pre-qualifying event. The junior No.31 lost her opener to Lucrezia Stefanini.
FITP
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Morocco's No.566-ranked Yasmine Kabbaj received a wild card for Rabat, where the 20-year-old San Diego State college player fell to Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Round 1.
Owen Hammond/WTA
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No.208-ranked Julia Avdeeva, 21, came through her first tour-level qualifying event to reach the Roland Garros main draw, where she fell to Coco Gauff in Round 1.
Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images
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Lucija Ciric Bagaric started 2024 with a 23-match winning streak, and built on it by qualifying for Roland Garros at her first attempt. The No.184-ranked Croat, 20, fell to Peyton Stearns in a tight three-set opener.
Jimmie48/WTA
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North Carolina State alumna Amelia Rajecki, 22, notched her first two Top 100 wins (over Wang Yafan and Katie Volynets) to qualify for Birmingham. The No.884-ranked Briton fell to former college teammate Diana Shnaider in Round 1.
Paul Harding/Getty Images for LTA
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Junior No.35 Julia Stusek, 16, entered Bad Homburg as a lucky loser, becoming the first 2008-born player to compete in a WTA main draw. The German teenager fell 6-2, 7-5 to Peyton Stearns in the first round.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Lea Boskovic, 24, got into the Iasi main draw as a lucky loser -- and made it to the quarterfinals. The No.202-ranked Croat defeated Maria Timofeeva and Varvara Lepchenko on her tour-level debut.
Andrei Cristian Luca/UniCredit Iasi Open
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Having raised her ranking from No.300 to No.179 over the previous two months, Spain's Leyre Romero Gormaz made her WTA main draw debut in Iasi as a direct entrant. The 22-year-old fell to Elina Avanesyan in Round 1.
Andrei Cristian Luca/UniCredit Iasi Open
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World No.199 Aliona Falei qualified for Iasi, continuing a surge up the rankings from No.612 just over a year previously. However, the 20-year-old was forced to retire just five games into her first round against Anca Todoni.
Palermo Ladies Open
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Roland Garros girls' finalist Laura Samson received a Prague wild card. Ranked No.634, the 16-year-old Czech upset No.2 seed Katerina Siniakova en route to becoming the youngest WTA semifinalist since Coco Gauff in 2019.
Gintare Karpaviciute/WTA
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Junior No.1 Renata Jamrichova also received a wild card in Prague. The 17-year-old Slovak, ranked No.545, held three set points against Viktoriya Tomova before falling in Round 1.
Gintare Karpaviciute/WTA
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Former junior No.5 Sayaka Ishii qualified for Cleveland and held three match points on Katerina Siniakova in Round 1 before falling. The Japanese 18-year-old had cut her ranking from No.613 to No.284 over the previous 12 months.
Tennis in the Land
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Warsaw 125 finalist Maya Joint, 18, qualified for the US Open and upset Laura Siegemund to make Round 2. The Australian had cut her ranking from No.1371 to No.135 over the previous 11 months.
Simon Bruty/USTA
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Argentina's No.158-ranked Solana Sierra, the 2022 Roland Garros junior finalist, also qualified for the US Open, defeating Usue Maitane Arconada from 6-1, 4-0 down in the final round. The 20-year-old fell to Tatjana Maria in Round 1.
Brad Penner/USTA
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No.389-ranked Iva Jovic, 16, received a US Open wild card after winning the USTA U18 National Championships. The American -- also the Australian Open and Wimbledon girls' doubles champion -- notched her first Top 50 win over Magda Linette in Round 1.
Jimmie48/WTA
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University of Miami alumna, 2019 Wimbledon junior finalist and 2024 NCAA singles champion Alexa Noel received a US Open wild card. The 21-year-old No.784-ranked American fell to Sara Sorribes Tormo in Round 1.
Andrew Ong/USTA
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Croatia's Antonia Ruzic, 21, qualified for Monastir and reached the quarterfinals. The World No.173 upset Nadia Podoroska in Round 1 for her first Top 75 win.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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No.621-ranked Priska Nugroho, the 2020 Australian Open girls' doubles champion, received a wild card for Monastir. The 21-year-old-Indonesian fell to Mai Hontama in Round 1.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Tunisia's Chiraz Bechri received a Monastir wild card, and led Diane Parry by a break before falling in Round 1. The 26-year-old reached a career high of No.571 in 2016 and has made six ITF finals.
Mathias Schulz/WTA
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Thailand's No.195-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew, 22, qualified for Hua Hin 2. The Oklahoma State University alumna, a former Top 20 junior, took Rebecca Sramkova to three sets in Round 1.
Allied Thailand Open 2024 presented by Cal-Comp
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Having reached seven ITF finals in 2024 to cut her ranking from No.578 in May to No.366, Ksenia Laskutova qualified for Hua Hin 2. The 28-year-old fell to Nadia Podoroska in Round 1.
Allied Thailand Open 2024 presented by Cal-Comp
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Yao Xinxin, 20, was one of three Chinese wild cards making their WTA debut in Beijing. Yao, who fell to Cristina Bucsa in Round 1, had reached five ITF finals in 2024 and cut her ranking from No.524 to No.286 over the previous 12 months.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
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Shi Han, 19, had jumped from No.728 to No.240 over the previous 12 months after winning three ITF titles in 2024. Shi lost to Moyuka Uchijima in Round 1 of Beijing.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
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Unranked 18 months previously, Ren Yufei was ranked No.500 when she made her WTA debut in Beijing. The 18-year-old, a finalist at the Shenzhen ITF W50 in April, fell to Nadia Podoroska in Round 1.
Jimmie48/WTA
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Japan's Aoi Ito, 20, qualified and sliced her way to the Osaka semifinals via wins over Sofia Kenin, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Eva Lys. She had cut her ranking from No.420 to No.188 over the previous year.
Kinoshita Group Japan Open
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Former junior No.2 Sara Saito upset Elina Avanesyan to reach the Osaka quarterfinals as a wild card. The Japanese 18-year-old had cut her ranking from No.362 to No.179 over the previous 12 months.
Kinoshita Group Japan Open
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Mei Yamaguchi, 25, came through qualifying in Tokyo. The No.410-ranked Japanese player pushed Bianca Andreescu to two tight sets in Round 1.
Hiroshi Sato/WTA
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US Open junior champion Mika Stojsavljevic received a wild card for Tokyo. The 15-year-old Briton, ranked No.633, pushed Moyuka Uchijima to a third-set tiebreak in a first-round thriller.
Jimmie48/WTA
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No.179-ranked Elena Pridankina, 19, scored her first Top 100 win in Guangzhou qualifying over Yuliia Starodubtseva and got into the main draw as a lucky loser, falling to Caroline Dolehide in Round 1.
Huang Jinwen/WTA
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No.250-ranked Hina Inoue qualified in Hong Kong and fell to Wang Xiyu in Round 1. The 21-year-old American extended her overall 2024 record to 61-22.
Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
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Akasha Urhobo, 17, received a wild card in Merida and fell to Renata Zarazua in Round 1. Ranked No.292, the American teenager won her first ITF W75 title in Zephyrhills in May.
GS Sports Management/Imagenshop
