CHARLESTON, S.C./WASHINGTON, March 11, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
WTA 125 tournaments such as the Fifth Third Charleston 125, which began at LTP Mount Pleasant in the South Carolina Lowcountry Sunday, provides an opportunity for up-and-coming as well as established pro players to progress on the Hologic WTA Tour by earning ranking points and prize money.
The 32-player singles field (and 16 doubles teams), which commences main draw play today while also wrapping up qualifying, has drawn heavily upon the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., for providing players who lost in qualifying or the first-round last week in the California Palm Desert. Such was the case with 47th-ranked Clara Burel of France, who was slated to be the No. 1 seed in Charleston before withdrawing Sunday after losing in the round of 64 to World No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States Saturday afternoon.
The remaining seeded players in Charleston are familiar to fans who regularly follow the WTA Tour: No. 2 seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, ranked 48th; No. 3 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy, ranked 59th; No. 4 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, ranked 60th; No. 5 seed Lin Zhu of China, ranked 62nd; No. 6 seed Yafan Wang of China, ranked 66th; No. 7 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, ranked 74th; No. 8 seed Tamara Korpatsch of Germany, ranked 76th; No. 9 seed Nao Hibino of Japan, ranked 80th.
The singles field also includes: No. 82 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, No. 85 Oceane Dodin of France, No. 89 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, No. 90 Harriet Dart of Great Britain, No. 93 Clara Tauson of Denmark, No. 100 Sara Errani of Italy, No. 101 Renata Zarazua of Mexico and No. 103 Alizé Cornet of France. Among the Americans in the main draw are No. 88 Kayla Day and No. 92 Emina Bektas as well as a quartet of wild cards: Madison Sieg, Dalayna Hewitt, Louisa Chirico and Maria Mateas.
Sunday’s Fifth Third Charleston 125 results
Monday’s Fifth Third Charleston order of play
Around the Fifth Third Charleston 125
Among seeded players: The 33-year-old, left-handed Arantxa Rus will open against No. 96 Rebekah Markova of Spain today on Center Court. No. 3 seed Martina Trevisan will also be in action against Renata Zarazua, and No. 8 seed Tamara Korpatsch will face No. 81 Greet Minnen of Belgium.
Five berths in the qualifying draw for four qualifiers and a lucky loser are up for grabs Monday. Usue Maitane Arconada of the United States will play Olivia Gadecki of Australia, Mai Hontama of Japan faces McCartney Kessler of the United States, Taylah Preston of Australia opposes Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain, and Erika Andreeva of Russia takes on Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine.
Play continues daily with the finals scheduled on Saturday. First-prize singles earnings include $15,000 and 125 WTA ranking points. Runner-up will receive $8,000 and 81 WTA ranking points.
