WTA Merida Tournament: Paolini and Navarro Lead the Entry List, Stephens Receives Wildcard

The main draw for the 2026 WTA500 Merida event has been released. Paolini, who has struggled recently this season, received a late wildcard and will compete as the top seed, sharing the spotlight with defending champion and second seed Navarro. Lee Ji-ni and Buzkova are seeded third and fourth respectively, with the top four seeds receiving byes in the first round.

Defending Champion Navarro

Former US Open champion Stephens, British player Bolt, and Canadian Shytakusic have also been granted wildcards into the singles main draw. Chinese star Zhang Shuai, seeded first in the qualifiers, will attempt to secure a spot in the main draw early tomorrow Beijing time, facing Italian Trevisan.

Top Eight Seeds Matchups

[1] Paolini vs. Zeng Limi [6]

[3] Lee Ji-ni vs. Yastremska [5]

[7] Borsos vs. Buzkova [4]

[8] Rinette vs. Navarro [2]

Complete Singles Draw

In doubles, Jiang Xinyu/Buksha enter as the second seeds and will face the wildcard pair Stephens/A. Sanchez in the first round. Third seeds Guo Hanyu/Meladnovich will play against Gleeson/Kempen initially. Tang Qianhui/Xu Yifan will meet Arango/Semenz in the opening round, while Fengshuo/Brooks will take on Peter/Zeng Limi.

Complete Doubles Draw

Since last year, the WTA Merida tournament has been upgraded to a WTA500 event, held annually during the last week of February. This year, the total prize money reaches $1,206,446, with the singles champion earning 500 ranking points and $185,500. Giorgi, Semenz, and Navarro are all former champions of the tournament.

(Text and Editing: Dato, Images: Visual China)