Merida Open 2023: Women's draw, schedule, players, prize money breakdown and more
The inaugural edition of the Merida Open will be held from February 20-26, 2023.
World No. 21 Magda Linette leads the field as the top seed She's back in action for the first time since reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open last month. 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens is seeded second, while Zhu Lin and Katerina Siniakova are the third and fourth seeds respectively.
Though most of the top players are competing in the WTA 1000 at the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Merida Open field is fairly competitive. Here's all the key information regarding the tournament:
What is the Merida Open?
The tournament is a brand new addition to the WTA tour and will be making its debut this year. It replaced the Abierto Zapopan on the calendar, which was also held in Mexico.
It is part of the WTA 250 series of tournaments and will be held on outdoor hardcourts. The draw features 32 players in singles along with 16 teams in doubles.
Venue
The Merida Open will be held at the Yucatán Country Club in Mérida, Mexico.
Players
The top half of the draw features players like Magda Linette, Zhu Lin and Alison Riske-Amritraj. Linette was handed a tricky opener as she was drawn against Camila Osorio. It won't get any easier for her after that, with a potential second-round clash with Jule Niemeier on the cards.
Caty McNally will square off against Lin, while Riske-Amritraj will take on Wang Xiyu. Lyon Open champion Alycia Parks will begin her campaign against Fernanda Contreras Gomez.
Sloane Stephens leads the bottom half of the draw and will face a qualifier in the first round. She could face 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in the second round. Katerina Siniakova and Camila Giorgi are the other notable names in this half of the draw.
The official draw can be accessed here.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds will be held on February 18 and 19, 2023. The main draw action will begin on Monday, February 20. The first-round matches will go on until Tuesday, while the second-round matches come to an end on Thursday.
The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for for Friday and Saturday, respectively, with the final scheduled for Sunday, February 26. The doubles final will start at 4:30 pm local time, followed by the singles final at 7:00 pm.
Prize Money
The total prize money for the Merida Open stands at $259,303. The winner will walk away with a cash prize of $34,228 coupled with 280 ranking points. Here's a breakdown of the prize money and points:
Where to watch
Viewers in the US, Canada and UK can watch the Merida Open live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: British fans can catch all the action live on Amazon Prime Video.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on DAZN.
For more information regarding the broadcast of matches, click here.