Mirra Andreeva’s fortune has been revealed – and it’s the best draw for the China Open. Andreeva has the easiest draw for the WTA 1000 event starting Sept. 24 in Beijing, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents.
Andreeva gets a first-round bye as the 96-player event’s No. 4 seed. She’ll face a qualifier for 253rd-ranked Lin Zhu in her first match. The best seed in her quarter of the draw is No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, who has not played since Wimbledon due to injury.
Andreeva, at 18, the youngest player in the top five, seeks her third WTA 1000 title of 2025. Coco Gauff, the No. 2 seed, is the event’s reigning champion.
Who got the toughest and easiest draws for the WTA 1000 China Open?
Toughest draw for a top seed
Ekaterina Alexandrova has an absolutely brutal draw for a No. 9 seed. Her first match likely will be against a resurgent Barbora Krejcikova, a two-time major champion who has performed much better than her No. 34 ranking in recent events. She could conceivably face nothing but top-20 players the rest of the way, including the top three seeds in the last three rounds.
Toughest draw overall
Everything you just read about Alexandrova’s draw is even worse for Anna Blinkova, the world No. 71. Blinkova is the one who has to play Krejcikova in the first round. If she got through the first two rounds, she would inherit Alexandrova’s rocky road.
Best opportunity for an unseeded player
Antonia Ruzic from Croatia has a chance to stay halfway around the world for many days. The world No. 80 faces a qualifier in the first round. She’d face No. 18 Paula Badosa, whose ranking has been in decline, in the second round. The most likely opponent in the round of 32 is Karolina Muchova, who is overseeded at No. 13 as her live ranking is in the 20s.