Sloane Stephens is in first place in the bottom half of the draw and will play a qualifier there. Tatjana Maria, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, could be her opponent in the second round.
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The Merida Open’s first season will run from February 20–26, 2023. U.S. No. 21 Magda Linette, the top seed, is in the lead. She is back in action for the first time since last month, when she advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open. Sloane Stephens, who won the US Open in 2017, is seeded second, followed by Zhu Lin and Katerina Siniakova, who are seeded third and fourth, respectively. The Merida Open field is fairly competitive despite the fact that the majority of the top athletes are competing in the WTA 1000 at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
This year will mark the inaugural year for the tournament, which is a brand-new addition to the WTA tour. On the calendar, it took the place of the Abierto Zapopan, which was also held in Mexico. It will take place on outdoor hardcourts as a part of the WTA 250 tournament series. 32 single players and 16 doubles teams are included in the draw. The Yucatán Country Club in Mérida, Mexico, will host the Merida Open.
The 2023 WTA Merida will have five rounds of play excluding the qualifying rounds. These are the round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. The main draw of the tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, February 20 and conclude on Sunday February 26. Here is the tentative round-wise schedule of the WTA 250 event.
| Tournament stage | Dates |
|---|---|
| Round of 32 | February 20-21 |
| Round of 16 | February 22-23 |
| Quarter-finals | February 24 |
| Semi-finals | February 25 |
| Final | February 26 |
Players like Alison Riske-Amritraj, Zhu Lin, and Magda Linette can be found in the top half of the draw. Linette was paired with Camila Osorio in her difficult opening match. After that, things won’t get any simpler for her because a matchup with Jule Niemeier in the second round may be in the cards. Riske will compete against Wang Xiyu, while Caty McNally will face Lin. Alycia Parks, the winner of the Lyon Open, will face Fernanda Contreras Gomez in her opening match.
Sloane Stephens is in first place in the bottom half of the draw and will play a qualifier there. Tatjana Maria, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, could be her opponent in the second round. Other notable names in this portion of the draw include Katerina Siniakova and Camila Giorgi.
| Player | Seed |
|---|---|
| Magda Linette | 1 |
| Sloane Stephens | 2 |
| Lin Zhu | 3 |
| Katerina Siniakova | 4 |
| Alycia Parks | 5 |
| Mayar Sherif | 6 |
| Elisabetta Cocciaretto | 7 |
| Alison Riske | 8 |
The Merida Open has a total prize pool of $259,303. The winner will receive $34,228 in cash in addition to 280 ranking points.
| Stage | Prize Money | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | $34,228 | 280 |
| Runner-up | $20,226 | 180 |
| Semifinalist | $11,275 | 110 |
| Quarterfinalist | $6,418 | 60 |
| Second round | $3,920 | 30 |
| First round | $2,804 | 1 |
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