Doha [Qatar], January 23 (ANI): Eleven Grand Slam winners, led by two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek headline the initial entry list for the 2024 Qatar Open.
The WTA 1000 tournament will start on February 11.
Swiatek, Victoria Azarenka (2012-13), and Aryna Sabalenka (2020) have all won the championship in Doha previously. Karolina Pliskova (2017) and Elise Mertens (2019) bring the total number of prior champions to five. Swiatek set a record last year by dropping only five games on her way to defending her crown.
Former World No.1 Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Marketa Vondrousova, Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova, Sofia Kenin, and Sloane Stephens complete the list of major winners. Former World No.1 Osaka is the final straight entry into the main draw, using her special ranking of No.46 as she begins her recovery from maternity leave; this will be her second career participation in Doha, having reached the second round in 2018.
The top 46 players in the WTA rankings as of January 15 have all joined the event, with three exceptions: Madison Keys, who has a shoulder injury, and Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic, who are both on maternity leave. Osaka is the only initial direct acceptance that employs a specific rating.
Ons Jabeur, a two-time quarterfinalist in Doha, will look to put her second-round defeat at the Australian Open behind her as she returns to a tournament where she has previously had de facto home-court support. Karolina Muchova, a Roland Garros finalist, will return from a wrist injury that has kept her out since the US Open when she reached the semifinals.
Jessica Pegula, the 2023 runner-up, former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, and Zheng Qinwen are also in the running. The first ten alternates to the main draw are Mirra Andreeva, Peyton Stearns, Katerina Siniakova, Linda Noskova, Clara Burel, Shelby Rogers, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Katie Boulter, Lucia Bronzetti, and Cristina Bucsa. (ANI)
