Svitolina faces Wozniacki in Cincy first round, tough draws for Swiatek and Rybakina

Two of the WTA’s recent returnees will face in the first round of Cincinnati

Elina Svitolina in Montreal (ICON SMI/Panoramic)

August 12, 2023

The WTA tour heads to Cincinnati as the US hardcourt swing continues and the clock ticks down to the start of the final Grand Slam of the year, at Flushing Meadows.

Here’s how the draw breaks down at the Western and Southern Open for the women.

Mums to meet first up

The first-round match that catches the eye is undoubtedly Elina Svitolina versus Caroline Wozniacki – two women returning to the tour this year. The Ukrainian has already proved that she’s back to her best on the biggest stages following her spell of maternity leave, while the former world No 1 has just come out of retirement after more than three years.

Svitolina dominated their head to head before Wozniacki left the tour, leading 4-1 – but their most recent meeting was in the 2018 WTA Finals.

The winner will take on either 14th seed Daria Kasatkina or Peyton Stearns, and could face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16.

Tough draws for Swiatek and Rybakina

The top eight seeds all have byes into the round of 32 – which may well be a relief to top seed Iga Swiatek, third seed Jessica Pegula, and fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who are all into the semi-finals in Montreal.

Prospects for other seeds

There could be an intriguing round of 16 match in store between Coco Gauff and Petra Kvitova. Gauff will face either Mayar Sherif or a qualifier in the round of 32, while Kvitova, seeded ninth, needs to beat Anna Blinkova first, then either Liudmila Samsonova or a qualifier.

Eighth seed Maria Sakkari might be rather happy with her draw. She will play either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Sorana Cirstea in the round of 32, but has the prospect of Karolina Muchova or Beatriz Haddad Maia looming as possible round of 16 opponents.

Garcia defending champion

Last year’s champion Caroline Garcia – who beat Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the final – will play either Sloane Stephens or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the second round. If she gets through that, she’ll have to deal with Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the third round.