2021 WTA Debutantes
Welcome to the Tour: All of 2021's WTA debutantes
Lausanne quarterfinalist Lucia Bronzetti impressed in her first ever WTA tournament this week. Along with Susan Bandecchi and Lucie Havlickova, she takes the total of WTA main draw debutantes in 2021 to 32.
01
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Russian World No.290 Anastasia Gasanova, 21, saved a match point against Ena Shibahara to qualify for Abu Dhabi, where she upset Karolina Pliskova to make the third round of the main draw.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
02
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Italian World No.317 and University of Texas alumna Bianca Turati, 23, also qualified for Abu Dhabi and made the second round by beating Yaroslava Shvedova.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
03
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Another Italian, World No.394 Lucrezia Stefanini, also qualified for Abu Dhabi after saving three match points against Irina Fetecau. The 22-year-old lost to Elena Rybakina in round one.
Photo by Nicola Demaldi/SertusImage
04
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Despina Papamichail made the Abu Dhabi main draw as a lucky loser, and the 27-year-old Greek pushed Karolina Pliskova to a 6-2, 7-6(4) scoreline in round one.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
05
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World No.263 Jodie Burrage was another lucky loser in Abu Dhabi. The Briton, 21, stretched compatriot Heather Watson all the way in a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 first-round loss.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
06
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After coming through Australian Open qualifying, 20-year-old Briton Francesca Jones made her WTA debut at the Gippsland Trophy, falling in round one to Nadia Podoroska.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Natasha Morello
07
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Unranked Australian wildcard Olivia Gadecki took Bernarda Pera to three sets in round one of the Gippsland Trophy. Three weeks later, the 18-year-old stunned Sofia Kenin in the Phillip Island Trophy.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Natasha Morello
08
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Australian World No.566 Gabriella Da Silva Fick, 20, made the Phillip Island Trophy draw as a lucky loser, and upset Aliaksandra Sasnovich to make the third round.
Photo by Getty Images
09
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28-year-old Russian World No.406 Daria Mishina was given a wildcard to St. Petersburg, where she lost in three sets to compatriot Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
10
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Doubles World No.24 Desirae Krawczyk competed in singles for the first time since 2017, and the first time at WTA level, at the Volvo Car Open. The American beat Kateryna Bondarenko to qualify for the main draw, where she fell in the first round.
Photo by Volvo Car Open/Chris Smith
11
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Texas Tech alumna Gabriela Talaba, a left-hander with a one-handed backhand, also qualified for the Volvo Car Open with a win over Wang Xinyu. The Romanian, 25, lost to Danka Kovinic in round one.
Photo by Volvo Car Open/Chris Smith
12
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With three ITF W25 trophies under her belt in 2021 already, late-blooming Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz qualified for her first WTA main draw in Bogota at the age of 29 - and made the quarterfinals with an upset of Arantxa Rus.
Photo by Copa Colsanitas
13
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Moldova-born Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, 23, had played her first WTA-level qualifying event at Wimbledon 2019, and made her main draw debut in Bogota. The World No.164 lost in round one to Nuria Parrizas Diaz.
Photo by Copa Colsanitas
14
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Colombia's Jessica Plazas had been a qualifying wildcard in Bogota in 2017-19. The 19-year-old World No.982 received her first main draw wildcard in 2021, losing to Lara Arruabarrena in round one.
Photo by Copa Colsanitas
15
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Alycia Parks played the first two WTA qualifying events of her career in Charleston, and made the main draw of the second tournament - where the 20-year-old American scored her first WTA win over Grace Min.
Photo by MUSC Health Women's Open/Chris Smith
16
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World No.928 Nastasja Schunk, 17, was one of two German teenage qualifying wildcards who won through to the Stuttgart main draw. Schunk beat Daniela Seguel and Noma Noha Akugue before falling 6-4, 6-2 to Belinda Bencic.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
17
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The unranked Julia Middendorf, 18, joined Schunk by upsetting Jana Fett and Tamara Korpatsch in Stuttgart qualifying, before losing to Anett Kontaveit in the main draw.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
18
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Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, 15, became the first ever Andorran to play in a WTA main draw when she received a wildcard for Madrid. The 2020 Australian Open junior champion, ranked World No.901, fell to Kiki Bertens in round one.
Photo by Mutua Madrid Open
19
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Roland Garros girls' doubles champion Lisa Pigato, 17, entered Parma as a qualifying wildcard. The Italian World No.572 beat Leonie Kung and Liudmila Samsonova to make the main draw, where she impressed in a spirited first-round loss to Serena Williams.
Photo by Marta Magni Images/MEF Tennis Events
20
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Lola Radivojevic, 16, the junior World No.59 but unranked on the WTA, played her third pro event as a wildcard in Belgrade. The Serb lost to Viktoriya Tomova in round one.
Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Serbia Ladies Open
21
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Spanish World No.279 Andrea Lazaro Garcia qualified for Strasbourg, losing to Bianca Andreescu in round one. A Florida International University alumna, the 26-year-old has reached six ITF finals since starting a full-time pro schedule in 2018.
Photo by Internationaux de Strasbourg/C'est qui Maurice?/Michel Grasso
22
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Yuliya Hatouka, 21, began 2021 by reaching five ITF finals in a row, winning two, rising to World No.280 off the back of a 25-7 record. The Belarusian continued her surge to qualify for Strasbourg, falling to Maryna Zanevska in the first round.
Photo by Internationaux de Strasbourg/C'est qui Maurice?/Michel Grasso
23
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Junior World No.7 Océane Babel received a wildcard into Roland Garros and made her debut against Elina Svitolina. Despite having never before played an opponent inside the Top 150, Babel led 5-2 in the second set before succumbing 6-2, 7-5.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
24
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Sarah Beth Grey was one of three British WTA main draw debutantes in Nottingham. The 25-year-old World No.614 qualified, saving a match point against Emily Webley-Smith, and fell in round one to Leonie Kung.
Photo by Getty Images for LTA
25
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Playing her 16th WTA qualifying draw, World No.520 Eden Silva, 25, also made it into a main draw for the first time in Nottingham, losing in a third-set tiebreak to Tara Moore in round one.
Photo by Getty Images for LTA
26
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Former Top 20 junior Emma Raducanu, 18, has already won three ITF titles. The World No.366 was given a wildcard into Nottingham, falling to Harriet Dart in round one.
Photo by Getty Images for LTA
27
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Junior World No.22 Mara Guth, 17, received a wildcard into Bad Homburg. The German, playing the third pro tournament of her career, fell in round one to Nadia Podoroska.
Photo by Sportfoto Zimmer/Maurer
28
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World No.478 Ekaterina Yashina, 27, improved to 38-16 in 2021 after qualifying for Bad Homburg, losing to Angelique Kerber in round one. A four-time ITF titlist, the Russian had previously been 0-9 in WTA qualifying rounds dating back to Tashkent 2011.
Photo by Sportfoto Zimmer/Maurer
29
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Riya Bhatia only got into Bad Homburg as a last-minute lucky loser following Sloane Stephens' withdrawal, but the 23-year-old Indian World No.362 led Laura Siegemund by a set and a break before falling in round one.
Photo by Sportfoto Zimmer/Maurer
30
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Lucia Bronzetti, 22, qualified for Lausanne and made the quarterfinals via an upset of Anna Blinkova - a WTA debut that took the Italian World No.241's season record to 44-14, including her first ITF W60 final in Bellinzona in April.
Photo by Ladies Open Lausanne/Mathias Schulz
31
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Switzerland's Susan Bandecchi has reached two ITF W25 finals this year as well as the last qualifying round of Roland Garros. The 23-year-old World No.219 debuted at home in Lausanne, falling to Clara Burel in round one.
Photo by Ladies Open Lausanne/Mathias Schulz
32
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Junior World No.46 Lucie Havlickova, 16, was given a wildcard into Prague. The World No.825, who had previously won a round in the 2020 Prague 125, took Anastasia Gasanova to three sets in the first round.
Photo by Livesport Prague Open
33
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In Gdynia, late-blooming Italian World No.287 Federica Di Sarra, 31, won her first ever WTA qualifying matches to make the main draw. Di Sarra had won 21 of her first 24 matches following the Tour shutdown in 2020.
Photo by Andrzej Szkocki
34
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Poland's Weronika Baszak, the 2020 Australian Open girls' runner-up, was given a wildcard into Gdynia. The 18-year-old World No.1199, who owns a rare one-handed backhand, took Aliaksandra Sasnovich to three sets in the first round.
Photo by Andrzej Szkocki
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