Kenin, Brady, Gauff Among Americans  in Season-Opening Abu Dhabi Field

Sofia Kenin leads a lineup of six Americans in the main draw of the inaugural Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open, the first event of the 2021 women's professional tennis season, slated to begin this week. 

World No. 4 and U.S. No. 1 Kenin, crowned WTA Player of the Year for a 2020 season which saw her win the Australian Open and reach the final of the French Open, is the top seed at the WTA 500 event and will open 2021 against a qualifier to be determined over the next two days of play. A rematch against No. 5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain, whom Kenin defeated to win her first Grand Slam title last January, could loom in the quarterfinals, and Kenin is joined in the draw by a trio of other Top 10 players: world No. 5 Elina Svitolina, world No. 6 Karolina Pliskova and world No. 10 Aryna Sabalenka. 

Three of the six Americans sit in the top quarter in all, where the unseeded Coco Gauff and Jamie Loeb also feature with Kenin. The 16-year-old Gauff opens against Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri, an alternate in the main draw ranked world No. 260, while Loeb, a former North Carolina Tar Heel ranked world No. 255, entered the field at the eleventh hour on Monday night after compatriot Amanda Anisimova, projected to be the No. 14 seed, withdrew due to illness. 

The 25-year-old is playing her first WTA main draw since 2018, and will face Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the opening round. 

Joining Kenin amongst the seeds, but in the bottom half of the draw, is world No. 24 Jennifer Brady as the No. 11 seed. Coming off a breakthrough season in 2020 where she won her first WTA singles title and reached the US Open semifinals, Brady will face Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek in her first match of the new season, and could be a quarterfinal foe for No. 3 seed and 2016 US Open finalist Pliskova. Also in this quarter of the draw is left-hander Bernarda Pera, who will face No. 16 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia in the first round.

Rounding out the American contingent in the bottom quarter is Jessica Pegula, who was dealt a tough test in the form of No. 2 seed Svitolina in her first match of 2021. While 0-4 in her career against Top 10 players, Pegula scored a victory against then-world No. 11 Sabalenka at the Western & Southern Open last summer for her best career victory by ranking. 

Former UCLA Bruin Catherine Harrison in the lone American representative in the qualifying draw, where she is the No. 8 seed. The world No. 204 will face Italy's Bianca Turati, herself a former standout at the University of Texas, and will need two victories to reach the main draw.

Main draw play in Abu Dhabi begins on Wednesday. Click here for more.