The draw for the final WTA 1000 tournament of 2025 — the Dongfeng · Voyah Wuhan Open — was released on Saturday, and features the return of World No. 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for her first tournament since winning her fourth Grand Slam singles title at the US Open.
Wuhan: Scores| Draws| Order of play
Despite the withdrawal of defending finalist Zheng Qinwen, eight of the Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings are in the field, and Sabalenka was handed a potentially tricky road to her title defense.
Here’s a closer look at the draw, quarter-by-quarter:
First Quarter
Sabalenka, who also won Wuhan in 2018, 2019, opens against the winner of a first-round match between Rebecca Sramkova and Anna Kalinskaya in her first match in more than a month.
Later, she may also have the opportunity to exact a measure of revenge on the player who defeated her in the last WTA 1000 event she played in. Elena Rybakina, seeded No. 8, is a projected quarterfinal opponent for the top seed — and beat her 6-1, 6-4 in that round at the Cincinnati Open before Sabalenka’s New York triumph.
Also in this section are No. 11 seed Naomi Osaka and No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova. Osaka, looking to rebound from an opening loss at the China Open, was dealt a tough hand in the form of Canada’s Leylah Fernandez — who famously defeated her at the 2021 US Open when Osaka was the defending champion.
Also in this section is China Open finalist Linda Noskova, who is unseeded. She could face Osaka or Fernandez in the second round.
Second Quarter
This section features a host of notable American players — not the least of which are No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova and No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula. After nearly squaring off for the China Open title this week, the two could meet in the quarterfinals in Wuhan.
Pegula is assured of facing a compatriot in her first match in the form of Hailey Baptiste or Ashlyn Krueger, with Ann Li as the fifth U.S. player in this section. She will face 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round, with the Brit eyeing potential revenge on Pegula after the pair dueled in a epic affair in Beijing.
But the most eye-popping first-round match in the draw is found in this section as No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova faces Canada’s Victoria Mboko.
The 19-year-old is 0-2 since she stormed to the Montreal title on home soil this summer — with the wrist injury she suffered in defeating Osaka to win it a potential contributing factor.
Third Quarter
Third seed Gauff and No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva could meet in the final eight in this section, as both look to shake off some disappointment from Beijing.
Andreeva, upset in the fourth round by Sonay Kartal, will open against either Dayana Yastremka or Laura Siegemund. Gauff — who won just three games in a semifinal loss to Anisimova in Beijing — will have either Wang Xinyu or a qualifier as her first hurdle.
Other first-round matches to watch: Sorana Cirstea vs. Jelena Ostapenko, No. 12 seed Karolina Muchova vs. Marta Kostyuk, and No. 14 seed Emma Navarro vs. Zhang Shuai.
Fourth Quarter
Rounding out the draw at the bottom is a quarter with No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini. Seeking her first final in Wuhan, Wimbledon champion Swiatek opens against either Marie Bouzkova or Camila Osorio — the latter of whom retired against Swiatek due to an injury in Beijing.
No. 10 seed Clara Tauson and No. 13 seed Belinda Bencic could play spoiler in this section.
AloJapan.com