2021 WTA Debutantes October 2, 2021

Welcome to the Tour: All of 2021's WTA debutantes

Two players contested a WTA main draw for the first time this week - Mai Hontama, who turned heads with a run of upsets en route to the Chicago quarterfinals, and Kazakh wildcard Zhibek Kulambayeva. They took the total number of WTA main draw debutantes in 2021 to 60.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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Another Gdynia wildcard was 20-year-old Russian World No.682 Valeriia Olianovskaia, a two-time ITF W15 finalist in 2021, who lost in round one to Anna Bondar.

Photo by Andrzej Szkocki

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Former junior World No.6 Amina Anshba was one of three lucky losers making their WTA main draw debuts in Gdynia. The 21-year-old Russian World No.325 defeated Harmony Tan to reach round two.

Photo by Andrzej Szkocki

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Qualifying wildcard Weronika Falkowska, 21, a four-time ITF titlist in 2021, extended her season record to 31-8 by reaching round two of Gdynia as a lucky loser. The Pole had ended 2020 ranked No.770, and rose to No.393 as a result.

Photo by Andrzej Szkocki

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World No.256 Anastasia Zakharova, 19, also debuted in Gdynia as a lucky loser. The Russian, a six-time ITF titlist, lost a first-round epic to eventual quarterfinalist Ekaterine Gorgodze.

Photo by Andrzej Szkocki

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Last August, China's Zheng Qinwen was ranked No.630. Since the Tour's resumption Zheng, 18, has compiled a 61-15 record to rise to No.163. Six ITF titles were followed by qualifying for Palermo and upsetting No.2 seed Liudmila Samsonova in round one.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open 2021

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Marina Bassols Ribera, 21, also qualified for Palermo. The Spanish World No.291 impressed in stretching former champion Jil Teichmann to three sets in the first round.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open 2021

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Italy's Nuria Brancaccio was given a wildcard into Palermo after compiling a 46-13 record in 2021 including five ITF finals. The 21-year-old World No.456 lost in three sets to eventual quarterfinalist Jaqueline Cristian in round one.

Photo by Palermo Ladies Open 2021

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University of Michigan alumna Emina Bektas, 28, defeated Ellen Perez and Katie Volynets to qualify for her first WTA main draw in San Jose. The American World No.352 fell to Caroline Garcia in round one.

Photo by Larry Hinh/Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic

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Japan's Yuki Naito, 20, has won six ITF titles since the start of 2019 and took Elina Svitolina to a third-set tiebreak in Billie Jean King Cup action this April. The former junior World No.10 made her WTA debut in Cluj-Napoca.