The Polish Magda Linette, number 21 in the WTA world ranking, and the American Sloane Stephens (40), start as top favorites to win the first edition of the Mérida Open, which will be played from February 20 to 26 at the Yucatán Country Club.
Linette, the first seed of the nascent tournament, will debut in the first round against the Colombian Camila Osorio (61) who has become a regular visitor to Mexico.
At 31 years of age, Linette is experiencing one of the best moments of her career. On February 13, she placed herself as the world number 21, the highest reach of her career so far, after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open 2023.
In Mérida, Linette will seek the third title of her career in singles, to add to those she won at the 2019 New York Open and at the 2020 Thailand Open.
Ten years younger, Osorio also played in the last Australian Open in which she was eliminated in the second round by the Polish Iga Swiatek, number 1 in the world.
“This year my goal is to be among the best 20 in the world; I started the season well, and although in Australia it was my turn against Iga, I feel very confident,” Osorio said ahead of his return to Mexico to face the Mérida tournament. .
In 2022, Osorio was at the Zapopan Open and reached the quarterfinals, then he reached the final of the Monterrey Open and at the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara he stayed in the second round.
“I am very excited to return for a higher level event. I love playing in Mexico, it is my home, I feel the love of the people so I hope to do a good job, advance many rounds and why not try to win the tournament”, said Osorio who will seek his second title as a singles player; The first was achieved in the Bogotá 2021 tournament.
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Stephens knows how to win in Mexico
Although Magda Linette is the first seed at the Mérida Open, at the other end of the table appears the American Sloane Stephens as second favorite.
At 29 years of age, Stephens has seven individual titles to his credit, two of which he won in Mexico: the 2016 Mexican Open in Acapulco and the 2022 Zapopan Open.
“I hope to play at the best level to win this tournament,” Stephens warned upon arrival in Mérida.
The Mérida Open has been added to the annual WTA tournament calendar to replace the previous Zapopan Open, which in 2022 became the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara.
This nascent Merida Open is a category 250 tournament for the WTA that will distribute a purse of $259,303 in prizes.
The tournament will be played on hard surface courts, the Yucatán Country Club, which will have a main court with a capacity for 3,000 people and two alternate courts with a capacity for 1,290 people each.