Dates, raffles, prize money and everything you need to know

The Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open makes its long-awaited return and is back on the calendar for the first time since 2019, where it will be the final WTA 1000 event of the season.

The seventh edition of the tournament will feature 15 of the top 20 players in the PIF WTA singles rankings. Wuhan will be the second WTA 1000 tournament in a row in China after the China Open in Beijing.

Wuhan: Points | Order of play | Pulls

Top seed Iga Swiatek withdrew from the tournament after announcing her separation from coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has had another strong run at the China Open and is hot on her heels in the year-end showdown for No. 1.

Sabalenka was dominant in Wuhan, taking the title in the last two editions in 2018 and 2019. She has never lost a game in the tournament.

Wuhan will play an important role in who qualifies for the WTA Finals in Riyadh at the end of the year. Swiatek and Sabalenka are the only qualified individual players so far, with six more spots still up for grabs.

Here are the quick facts as Wuhan takes center stage again:

When does the tournament start?

The main draw in Wuhan begins on Monday, October 7th. The week-long event ends on Sunday, October 13th.

The individual qualification takes place the weekend before, on Saturday October 5th and Sunday October 6th.

The event uses the Head Tour Regular Duty ball.

Wuhan uses Chinese Standard Time (GMT +8, Eastern Time +12).

How big are the fields?

There will be 56 players competing in the singles main draw, with the top eight players receiving a bye in the first round. There will be eight qualifying tournaments and four wildcards.

28 teams take part in the doubles draw, with the top four receiving byes in the first round. Three wildcard teams will take part in this draw.

When is the final?

The individual final will take place on Sunday, October 13th, at the earliest at 5 p.m. local time. The doubles final will take place that day at 2:30 p.m. local time.

When do the draws take place?

The singles and doubles draws took place on Saturday October 5th.

Analysis of the draw in Wuhan: Sabalenka aims for a three-pointer in the second leg

The full singles draw can be found in the WTA Insider post below, and both draws can be found here on the WTA website.

Who are the defending champions?

Sabalenka is 12-0 in Wuhan. She defeated Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the 2019 final.

The 2019 doubles champions, Duan Yingying and Veronika Kudermetova, defeated Sabalenka and Elise Mertens in the final 7:6(3), 6:2.

What ranking points and prize money are available in the individual main field?

Who is playing?

Here are stats for the top 8 seeds:

1. Aryna Sabalenka
Ranking: No. 2 (Career High #1)
Career singles titles: 16 (3 this year)
Career win-loss record in the main draw at the Wuhan Open: 12-0
Best Wuhan Open result: Champions (2018, 2019)

2. Jessica Pegula
Ranking: No. 3 (Career High No. 3)
Career singles titles: 6 (2 this year)
Career win-loss record in the main draw at the Wuhan Open: 0-1
Best Wuhan Open result: First Round (2019)

3. Jasmine Paolini
Ranking: No. 5 (Career High No. 5)
Career singles titles: 2 (1 this year)
Best Wuhan Open result: Tournament debut

4. Coco Gauff
Ranking: No. 6 (career high No. 2)
Career singles titles: 7 (1 this year)
Best Wuhan Open result: Tournament debut

5. Zheng Qinwen
Ranking: No. 7 (Career High No. 7)
Career singles titles: 4 (2 this year)
Best Wuhan Open result: Defeat in qualifying (2019)

6. Emma Navarro
Ranking: No. 8 (Career High No. 8)
Career singles titles: 1 (1 this year)
Best Wuhan Open result: Tournament debut

7. Barbora Krejcikova
Ranking: No. 10 (career high No. 2)
Career singles titles: 8 (1 this year)
Best Wuhan Open result: Tournament debut

8. Daria Kasatkina
Ranking: No. 11 (career best No. 8)
Career singles titles: 7 (1 this year)
Main draw career win-loss record at the Wuhan Open: 6-4
Best Wuhan Open result: Round of 16 (2016, 2017, 2018)

Sabalenka is the only former Wuhan champion entered. Former champions Petra Kvitova (2014, 2016) and Venus Williams (2015) are not playing and Caroline Garcia (2017) withdrew from the main draw due to a persistent right shoulder injury.

In addition to Swiatek, other departures include Elena Rybakina (back injury), Danielle Collins (illness), Jelena Ostapenko (persistent abdominal injury), Maria Sakkari (persistent shoulder injury), Ons Jabeur (shoulder injury), Victoria Azarenka (persistent). injury), Elina Svitolina (ongoing injury), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (back injury) and Karolina Pliskova (foot injury).

The entry deadline for the main draw was based on the rankings as of September 9th. In addition to Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Yuan Yue, Wang Xinyu and Zhang Shuai are other Chinese players who were admitted directly. Zhang Shuai uses her protected rank No. 48.

How did the Asian swing go last year?

Here's a look at the 2023 champions and finalists from this part of the season in Asia:

Osaka (WTA 250): Ashlyn Krueger defeated. Zhu Lin
Guangzhou (WTA 250): Wang Xiyu defeated. Magda Linette

Tokyo (WTA 500): Veronika Kudermetova defeated. Jessica Pegula
Ningbo (WTA 250): Ons Jabeur defeated. Diana Schneider

Beijing (WTA 1000): Iga Swiatek defeated. Lyudmila Samsonova

Zhengzhou (WTA 500): Zheng Qinwen defeated. Barbora Krejcikova
Hong Kong (WTA 250): Leylah Fernandez defeated. Katerina Siniakova

Seoul (WTA 250): Jessica Pegula defeated. Yuanyue
Nanchang (WTA 250): Katerina Siniakova defeated. Marie Bouzkova

WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai: Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated. Zheng Qinwen