The 2024 Palermo Open will run from July 15th to 21st and the draw for the WTA 250 tournament has already been released.
As one of the few clay-court tournaments after the grass-court part of the season, the Palermo Ladies Open piqued interest of some high-ranked players this year, especially those that want to fine-tune their game for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be played on clay.
Elina Svitolina was among the players who were supposed to compete at the tournament, but she withdrew from the event, citing undisclosed health issues as a result for her withdrawal.
The top seed in the Italian city will be Qinwen Zheng, who played in the Australian Open final this year, but she has struggled to produce the same level since. On top of that, in the first round of the competition, she will face a difficult challenge.
Her opponent will be experienced 37-year-old Sara Errani, who also has a experience of playing in a major final, and supported by the home crowd, the Italian will certainly try to eliminate the top seed. The winner of this match will then play against either Emiliana Arango or Petra Martic in the second round.
On the other side of the draw is the second-seeded Karolina Muchova, whose draw is one big mystery. In the first round, she will play against one of the qualifiers, and should she win that match, her second-round opponent will be also one of the qualifiers.
One of the wild card recipients in Palermo was Ajla Tomljanovic, who is looking to build her form and find her top level again. In the first round of the tournament, she will try to do that against Mayar Sherif.
Peyton Stearns is the third seed at this WTA 250 tournament, and she will play in the only first-round match in which two players from the same country will meet, as she will take on compatriot Ann Li. The full draw for the 2024 Palermo Open can be seen below.
2024 Palermo Open WTA Draw:
| Player | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Qinwen Zheng (1) | Sara Errani |
| Emiliana Arango | Petra Martic |
| Lucia Bronzetti | Elsa Jacquemot |
| Julia Riera | Jaqueline Cristian (7) |
| Diane Parry (4) | Qualifier |
| Qualifier | Qualifier |
| Chloe Paquet | Saisai Zheng |
| Maria Lourdes Carle | Tatjana Maria (8) |
| Arantxa Rus (5) | Martina Trevisan |
| Irina-Camelia Begu | Marina Bassols Ribera |
| Erika Andreeva | Darja Semenistaja |
| Ann Li | Peyton Stearns (3) |
| Anna Blinkova (6) | Astra Sharma |
| Ajla Tomljanovic (WC) | Mayar Sherif |
| Qualifier | Qualifier |
| Qualifier | Karolina Muchova (2) |
