Wild cards Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu could face the top seeds early at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. The WTA 500 tournament, which is played on the outdoor hard courts at the Zayed Sports City International Centre, begins on Monday, Feb. 5.
Abu Dhabi: Draws | Scores | Schedule
World No.5 Elena Rybakina and No.6 Ons Jabeur top the draw, followed by No.9 Maria Sakkari and No.11 Barbora Krejcikova.
Former No.1 Osaka was drawn into Rybakina's top half and could play the 2022 Wimbledon champion in the second round. Osaka, who went 1-2 in her comeback in Australia, will open her tournament against a qualifier.
Main draw in Abu Dhabi (WTA 500), where Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur are the top seeds.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 3, 2024
Naomi Osaka will open against a qualifier. The winner will face Rybakina in 2R.
Emma Raducanu will open against Marie Bouzkova. The winner will face Jabeur in 2R. pic.twitter.com/N86ZEfLzAP
Update: Jelena Ostapenko (change of schedule) and Paula Badosa (back injury) withdrew from the tournament after the draw was made. Their positions will be taken by lucky losers.
Belinda Bencic won the title last year, saving three match points in the final to edge past Liudmila Samsonova. Bencic, who is on maternity leave, will not defend her title. Samsonova is seeded No.8 and will face Lesia Tsurenko in the first round.
Coming off her resurgent quarterfinal result in Melbourne, No.4 seed Krejcikova was drawn into the top half. After a first-round bye, the Czech will face either Veronika Kudermetova or a qualifier.
In the bottom half of the draw, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu will face the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova in the first round. The winner of that match will take on No.2 seed Jabeur in the second round.
Raducanu 'more confident than ever' after Australian Open exit
No.3 seed Sakkari will face either Caroline Garcia or Sorana Cirstea in the second round. Sakkari has won her past three meetings against Garcia. In contrast, Sakkari earned her first win in three tries over Cirstea last summer in Cincinnati. Garcia and Cirstea have split their four previous meetings.
Also in the bottom half of the draw are No.6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and No.7 seed Daria Kasatkina. Haddad Maia will face Chinese wild card Wang Xiyu in the first round. Wang will face a quick turnaround in Abu Dhabi after her strong run to the Hua Hin semifinals this week.
Rounding out the marquee appearances, 18-year-old Alexandra Eala of the Philippines was granted a main-draw wild card. The 2022 US Open girls' champion will play Poland's Magda Linette in the first round.
