The season of 2022 is finally behind us, and we had a fantastic year in women’s tennis with a lot of competitors stepping up to a variety of challenges. If anything, the previous season was also a fantastic intro for the upcoming WTA tournaments in 2023, and today, we are going to talk about them and some favorites that are expected to dominate the tennis scene.
With one grand slam tournament already behind us, it is apparent that we are in a very competitive year, and it seems like a highly dominant Polish lady Iga Swiatek, who had a historic season in 2022, might be challenged this year. Whether or not that may be the case, the year will certainly get interesting, so we are in for a treat in the upcoming tournaments. We will discuss this today, so let us begin without any delay.
Overview and WTA Schedule for the 2023 Season
The 50th anniversary season of the Hologic WTA Tour began with the United Cup in Australia, which was a new combined event in partnership with Tennis Australia and ATP. It involved women and men players that played in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney.
We also had the chance to see some of the finest WTA players compete in Adelaide (WTA 500) and Auckland (WTA 250). Some changes were also made to the WTA calendar, the biggest ones being a new WTA 250 event in Austin, Texas, and a 250 event in Merida, Mexico, which both take place in February.
We already had a chance to watch the first grand slam of the year, Australian Open, where Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina faced off in the finals. The tournament was packed with upsets, the biggest one being the elimination of Iga Swiatek. Ultimately, Sabalenka triumphed, and she and Rybakina showed that both of them had something to say in the race for the number one seed in the rankings.
In the section below, we have listed all the tournaments we will be able to watch in this year’s season.
WTA Tournaments 2023 Schedule
| Starting Date | Series | Tournament | Location | Surface | Winner |
| 29.12. | Mixed Team Event | United Cup | Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Australia | Hard | USA |
| 01.01. | WTA 500 | Adelaide International 1 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Sabalenka |
| 02.01. | WTA 250 | ASB Classic | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Gauff |
| 09.01. | WTA 250 | Hobart International | Hobart, Australia | Hard | Davis |
| 09.01. | WTA 500 | Adelaide International 2 | Adelaide Australia | Hard | Bencic |
| 16.01. | Grand Slam | Australian Open | Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Sabalenka |
| 30.01. | WTA 250 | Thailand Open | Hua Hin, Thailand | Hard | Zhu |
| 30.01. | WTA 250 | Open 6E Sens Metropole de Lyon | Lyon, France | Indoor Hard | Parks |
| 30.01. | WTA 125 | Copa Oster | Cali, Colombia | Clay | Podoroska |
| 06.02. | WTA 250 | Upper Austria Ladies Linz | Linz, Austria | Indoor Hard | N/A |
| 06.02. | WTA 500 | Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open | Abu Dhabi, UAE | Hard | N/A |
| 13.02. | WTA 500 | Qatar TotalEnergies Open | Doha, Qatar | Hard | N/A |
| 19.02. | WTA 1000 | Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships | Dubai, UAE | Hard | N/A |
| 20.02. | WTA 250 | Merida Open Akron | Merida, Mexico | Hard | N/A |
| 27.02. | WTA 250 | ATX Open | Austin, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 27.02. | WTA 250 | Abierto GNP Seguros | Monterrey, Mexico | Hard | N/A |
| 08.03. | WTA 1000 | BNP Paribas Open | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 21.03. | WTA 1000 | Miami Open | Miami, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 03.04. | WTA 500 | Credit One Charleston Open | Charleston, United States | Clay | N/A |
| 03.04. | WTA 250 | Copa Colasanitas | Bogota, Colombia | Clay | N/A |
| 17.04. | WTA 500 | Porsche Tennis Grand Prix | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | N/A |
| 17.04. | WTA 250 | TEB BNP Pairbas Tennis Championship | Istanbul, Turkey | Clay | N/A |
| 25.04. | WTA 1000 | Mutua Madrid Open | Madrid, Spain | Clay | N/A |
| 01.05. | WTA 125 | LOpen 35 De Saint Malo | Saint Malo, France | Clay | N/A |
| 08.05. | WTA 1000 | Internazionali BNL Italia | Rome, Italy | Clay | N/A |
| 15.05. | WTA 125 | Trophee Clarins | Paris, France | Clay | N/A |
| 21.05. | WTA 250 | Internationaux De Strassbourg | Strassbourg, France | Clay | N/A |
| 21.05 | WTA 250 | Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem | Rabat, Morocco | Clay | N/A |
| 28.05. | Grand Slam | French Open | Paris, France | Clay | N/A |
| 06.06. | WTA 125 | Makarska Open | Makarska, Croatia | Clay | N/A |
| 12.06. | WTA 250 | Libema Open | Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass | N/A |
| 12.06. | WTA 250 | Rothesay Open | Nottingham, Great Britain | Grass | N/A |
| 12.06. | WTA 125 | BBVA Open Internacional de Valencia | Valencia, Spain | Clay | N/A |
| 19.06. | WTA 250 | Rothesay Classic | Birmingham, Great Britain | Grass | N/A |
| 19.06. | WTA 500 | Bett10Pen | Berlin, Germany | Grass | N/A |
| 19.06. | WTA 125 | Veneto Open | Gaiba, Italy | Grass | N/A |
| 25.06. | WTA 250 | Bad Homburg Open | Bad Homburg, Germany | Grass | N/A |
| 25.06. | WTA 500 | Rothesay International | Eastbourne, Great Britain | Grass | N/A |
| 03.07. | Grand Slam | Wimbledon | London, United Kingdom | Grass | N/A |
| 10.07. | WTA 125 | Nordea Open | Bastaad, Sweden | Clay | N/A |
| 10.07. | WTA 125 | Grand Est Open | Contrexeville, France | Clay | N/A |
| 17.07. | WTA 250 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | N/A |
| 17.07. | WTA 125 | Iasi Open | Iasi, Romania | Clay | N/A |
| 17.07. | WTA 250 | 34 Palermo Ladies Open | Palermo, Italy | Clay | N/A |
| 19.07. | Team Event | Hopman Cup | Nice, France | Clay | N/A |
| 23.07. | WTA 250 | Hamburg European Open | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | N/A |
| 24.07. | WTA 250 | Ladies Open Lausanne | Lausanne, Switzerland | Clay | N/A |
| 24.07. | WTA 250 | BNP Paribas Poland Open | Warsaw, Poland | Clay | N/A |
| 31.07. | WTA 500 | Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic | San Jose, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 07.08. | WTA 1000 | Omniun National Bank Presented by Rogers | Montreal, Canada | Hard | N/A |
| 07.08. | WTA 125 | Thoreau Tennis Open | Concord, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 13.08. | WTA 125 | Odlum Brown VanOpen | Vancouver, Canda | Hard | N/A |
| 14.08. | WTA 1000 | Western & Southern Open | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 20.08. | WTA 250 | Tennis in the Land | Cleveland, United States | Hard | N/A |
| 20.08. | WTA 250 | Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby | Granby, Canada | Hard | N/A |
| 28.08. | Grand Slam | US Open | New York, United States | Hard | N/A |
As you can see, we are in for numerous treats in women’s tennis this year, and with a total of 57 tournaments across the globe, there is a lot to look forward to in terms of competitiveness and drama regarding the top seeds on the WTA rankings.
Preview of the Season
With one grand slam and several lesser tournaments behind us, we have already had a chance to see a lot of exciting matches, upsets, and convincing victories.
In the sections below, we are going to discuss some of the top players in women’s tennis, as well as some up-and-coming talents, and talk about what to expect from them in the upcoming WTA calendar.
Can Iga Swiatek Hold No. 1 Seed in the WTA Rankings?
Polish player Iga Swiatek and current no. 1 seed in the WTA rankings had a historic season in 2022. She had a series of tremendous successes on both clay and hard courts, but the time she spent on the grass courts was not as lucrative.
In 2022, she topped the charts for the most wins on the clay courts, where she lost only one match to Carline Garcia in Warsaw. Swiatek also won 47 matches on hard courts last year, which is the sixth all-time best.
Nevertheless, her grass performances were lackluster compared to other court surfaces, which gives a window for other contenders for the number-one seed to dethrone her. With that said, she is still heavily favored to win the most trophies in the upcoming WTA calendar, despite her premature elimination at the Australian Open.
Can 2023 Be a Breakthrough Year for Sabalenka?
After she failed to win a single title in 2022, with issues with her serve, Sabalenka is off to a flawless start in 2023, as she began the year with two consecutive titles. The first one was at the Adelaide International 1, a WTA 250 event, which she finished without dropping a single set.
She continued strongly in her intent to conquer Australia and won the first grand slam of her career at the Australian Open by beating Elena Rybakina in the finals match at Melbourne Park. With such stellar form and plenty of confidence, only one question remains – will she challenge Iga Swiatek for the number-one ranking on the WTA list now that she has tasted the grand slam success for the first time?
For the time being, she confirmed participation at Qatar Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, Charleston Open, Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open, Libema Open, German Open, Silicon Valley Classic, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open, US Open, Wuhan Open, China Open, Guadalajara Open, and WTA finals.
The Rise of Caroline Garcia
Although Swiatek has shown some signs of slowing down by the end of 2022, French player Caroline Garcia did quite the opposite. She started the season as the number 74 seed, and throughout the year, she moved up 70 places, which was the highest rise by a WTA player in 2022 among the top 20.
Her season started with struggles, as she managed to win only 45 percent of her matches; however, in the remaining part of the season, her win rate rose to a whopping 79.5 percent. She also became the first French player to win WTA Finals after Amelie Mouresmo did it in 2005.
When it is all said and done, it is safe to conclude that Caroline Garcia’s form is on an upward trajectory, and she will certainly be one of the main contenders in the upcoming season to dethrone Swiatek.
The Up-And-Coming Coco Gauff
American youngster Coco Gauff, who turned just 18 in 2022, had a fantastic season as well, and given her young age, it is expected for her only to get better. She played both singles and doubles throughout the last season, which helped her move up in the rankings to the top 10 in both categories.
Coco is only fourteenth player in the history of the game to become a part of the top five on the WTA rankings before turning nineteen, so it is safe to conclude that we should expect great things from her, perhaps even this season, in which stakes are high, and many players are looking for a breakthrough.
Is Qinwen the Next Big Talent in the WTA Scene?
Chinese star Zheng Qinwen is certainly one of the up-and-coming players that made a huge breakthrough in the 2022 season. She started it ranked above 100, but by the end of the year, she moved up to the top 30, and among the top 30 players on the WTA rankings, only Coco Gauff is younger than Qinwen, so the expectations for her career definitely escalated.
The interesting fact is that Zheng was born in the same province as Li Na, who was the only Chinese player to break the top 10 since WTA rankings were established in 1975. Statistics-wise, she was also highly dominant and won 74.5 percent of the points with first serve in 2022, with only Naomi Osaka having a higher ratio in this category.
When it is all said and done, it seems that Zheng Qinwen was rightly named the newcomer of the year in 2022 by WTA, and it seems that she is only beginning the series of successes with the tremendous potential she has shown so far.
Can Ludmila Samsonova Finally Break the Top 10?
Samsonova is among the players who ended 2022 with a good run, and throughout the season, she had some stellar performances that made us believe that we can expect even greater things in the upcoming season.
Ever since Wimbledon ended, Ludmila Samsonova won twenty matches and lost only six, which granted her the highest winning ratio at the WTA level, which stood at 76.9 percent. Only Polish player Iga Swiatek had more consecutive wins (37 between Doha and Wimbledon) than Ludmila, who had 13 in a row between Washington and the US Open.
With that said, even though Samsonova had an incredible year, she is yet to appear in a grand slam quarterfinal match in her career, and she remains the only player with that stat alongside Beatriz Haddad Maia and Ekaterina Alexandrova. It seems that some grand slam success is what keeps her from the top ten players, and this year, she will have chances to make that next step.
Is There Another Grand Slam Title in Store for Elena Rybakina?
Elena Rybakina had a fantastic 2022 year, and she is in for an excellent start to 2023. In 2022 she won the Wimbledon title by beating Victoria Azarenka and showed a lot of potential and poise. At the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, she faced Aryna Sabalenka but lost.
Nevertheless, the finals match was good enough to launch her in the top 10 on the WTA rankings, which is her debut and career-best ranking. Elena was a surprise champion at Wimbledon in 2022, and even though she was not able to overcome Sabalenka in Australia, her confidence is on the rise.
She is confident that now that she had a taste and won Wimbledon after a heroic battle, she will be able to repeat that success and move up in the rankings. Being one step too far from winning the Australian Open, she will have extra motivation to get her game to the next level and compete with the very best women’s tennis has to offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many WTA tournaments are there on a yearly basis?
The WTA tour consists of over 50 tournaments and four grand slams per year. These events are played on six continents and nearly 30 countries and regions, sporting a fantastic audience of over 700 million people.
2. What WTA tournaments are mandatory?
WTA 1000 tournaments include events with prize money of approx one million USD. The winners of these tournaments are awarded 1.000 points, among which mandatory ones include Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Bejing.
3. What are the four most important events in the WTA tour?
The most important events are the grand slam tournaments. The first one is the Australian Open in January, followed by the French Open in late May to early June. The third one is Wimbledon in late June to early July, and the fourth is the US Open in late August and early September. Each tournament is played over two weeks.
4. Who was the youngest WTA number one?
At the Australian Open in 1997, Martina Hingis of Switzerland became the youngest-ever grand slam champion, winning it as only a 16-year-old. A couple of months later, she became the youngest player ever to attain the number-one spot on the WTA rankings list.
5. Who had the fastest serve in WTA?
The player who served the fastest serve in the history of the WTA tour was Georgina Garcia Perez from Spain. She served with a speed of 220 km/h or 136.7 mph. This record is followed by Aryna Sabalenka’s 214 km/h (133.0 mph) and Sabine Lisicki’s 210.8 km/h (131.0 mph) serves.
Final Words
The upcoming WTA tour in 2023 is sure to bring tons of excitement. After 2022 was marked by Iga Swiatek’s dominance, her form fell off a bit by the end of the year, which opened the door for other contenders for the top spot in the world, so we should expect a lot more competitiveness this season.
We hope you have enjoyed this article and that you found some interesting information about the upcoming year of tennis. We update our content daily, so make sure to revisit our website and find out more about the white sport and events within it.