Women's main draw play at the 2026 Austin Open and 2026 Merida Open will begin Monday, Feb. 23. The Austin Open, also known as the ATX Open, is an outdoor hard-court WTA 250 event with a 32-player draw. The Merida Open is an outdoor hard-court WTA 500 event with a 28-player draw and byes for the top four seeds. Both tournaments feature a top-10 WTA player as the top seed. Below are the top title contenders, dark horses and sleepers for the 2026 Austin Open and Merida Open.
Favorite to Win the 2026 Austin Open
Jessica Pegula: Fresh off her fourth career WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Championships, Pegula is well positioned to defend her 2025 Austin Open title. She's easily the highest-ranked player in the Austin Open draw at No. 5, and Pegula's title run in Dubai included a 6-4, 6-2 win over Iva Jovic, who is the No. 2 seed at the Austin Open and the only other top-30 player in the draw. Pegula is off to an excellent 13-2 start in 2026, complementing her Dubai victory with a semifinal showing at the Australian Open. Her chalk opponents from the quarterfinals onward are No. 7 seed Caty McNally, No. 3 seed Xinyu Wang and Jovic.
In the Mix to Win the 2026 Austin Open
Iva Jovic: Jovic is rapidly ascending the rankings, having climbed to 20th thanks to a 13-4 start in 2026, including a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open. The 18-year-old
Women's main draw play at the 2026 Austin Open and 2026 Merida Open will begin Monday, Feb. 23. The Austin Open, also known as the ATX Open, is an outdoor hard-court WTA 250 event with a 32-player draw. The Merida Open is an outdoor hard-court WTA 500 event with a 28-player draw and byes for the top four seeds. Both tournaments feature a top-10 WTA player as the top seed. Below are the top title contenders, dark horses and sleepers for the 2026 Austin Open and Merida Open.
Favorite to Win the 2026 Austin Open
Jessica Pegula: Fresh off her fourth career WTA 1000 title at the Dubai Championships, Pegula is well positioned to defend her 2025 Austin Open title. She's easily the highest-ranked player in the Austin Open draw at No. 5, and Pegula's title run in Dubai included a 6-4, 6-2 win over Iva Jovic, who is the No. 2 seed at the Austin Open and the only other top-30 player in the draw. Pegula is off to an excellent 13-2 start in 2026, complementing her Dubai victory with a semifinal showing at the Australian Open. Her chalk opponents from the quarterfinals onward are No. 7 seed Caty McNally, No. 3 seed Xinyu Wang and Jovic.
In the Mix to Win the 2026 Austin Open
Iva Jovic: Jovic is rapidly ascending the rankings, having climbed to 20th thanks to a 13-4 start in 2026, including a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open. The 18-year-old American is the favorite to emerge from the bottom half of the Austin Open draw, where she could face fourth-seeded compatriot Peyton Stearns in the semifinals. Jovic has just one WTA Tour-level title in her young career, but there are likely to be many more trophies in the talented teenager's future.
Xinyu Wang: Wang is a distant third among Austin Open title contenders. Her No. 33 ranking earned Wang the third seed in this tournament, and she landed in Pegula's half of the draw. Wang actually has a 2-1 career head-to-head edge against Pegula, but the Chinese 24-year-old would be a substantial underdog if they meet in the quarterfinals. Wang may have to get through No. 5 seed Varvara Gracheva before that point.
Sleepers to Win the 2026 Austin Open
Bianca Andreescu: Andreescu's career has been derailed by injuries, but the 2019 U.S. Open champion isn't an easy out when she's healthy enough to compete, as she still brings exceptional shotmaking and variety, as well as the mentality of a champion. After winning a lower-level event a few weeks ago, the 155th-ranked Canadian is ready to make her 2026 WTA Tour debut. If Andreescu gets by 86th-ranked Dalma Galfi in the first round, she could face Pegula in the second round.
Alycia Parks: Consistency has eluded Parks, but the big-serving American has a high ceiling to her game and can string together impressive performances when she gets rolling in a tournament. Parks took Karolina Muchova down to the wire in the second round of the Australian Open and notched a top-25 win over Diana Shnaider at the Qatar Open. The 95th-ranked Parks is in the most open section of the draw, which features Stearns and No. 6 seed Anna Bondar in Jovic's half.
Favorite to Win the 2026 Merida Open
Jasmine Paolini: The eighth-ranked Paolini is the top seed at the Merida Open, but she's just 3-4 to begin 2026. She has earned the benefit of the doubt as one of the most consistent performers on the WTA Tour over the past two years, but perhaps the 30-year-old Italian is starting to regress to the pedestrian level Paolini showed for most of her career prior to breaking out in 2024. Paolini's path to getting back on track at the Merida Open could feature a quarterfinal matchup against No. 6 seed Janice Tjen, semifinal against No. 3 seed Ann Li and final against No. 2 seed Emma Navarro.
In the Mix to Win the 2026 Merida Open
Emma Navarro: Navarro is the defending Merida Open champion, but the 19th-ranked American's level has slipped substantially so far in 2026 relative to her form this time last year. She's off to a 4-6 start in 2026, including a first-round loss at the Australian Open to Magda Linette, who is seeded eighth here and could face the second-seeded Navarro in the quarterfinals. If Navarro can avenge that loss, her chalk semifinal opponent would be No. 4 seed Marie Bouzkova. Navarro's an excellent defender and gets plenty of balls in play, but bigger-hitting opponents have found ways to push her around recently.
Ann Li: Li surged in the second half of 2025 to climb into the top 40. Her current No. 36 ranking is three spots back of her career high and earned Li the No. 3 seed at the Merida Open. The 25-year-old American doesn't have any standout weapons, but she has a well-rounded game and plenty of confidence from all the match wins she has racked up over the last few months. She could face No. 5 seed Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals before a potential semifinal versus Paolini. Li has a first-round bye into the Round of 16 as one of the top four seeds.
Sleepers to Win the 2026 Merida Open
Janice Tjen: Like Li, Tjen has improved her ranking substantially in the past few months, and the 23-year-old Indonesian now sits at a career-high 46th, which earned her the sixth seed at the Merida Open. After closing out 2025 on a high note with her first WTA Tour-level title in Chennai, Tjen has notched three top-30 wins already in 2026. She has the chance to cement her arrival as a player to watch out for on the WTA Tour with a potential upset opportunity against Paolini in the quarterfinals.
Magda Linette: Linette remains a top-50 player at age 34 and isn't showing any signs of slowing down, as she defeated both Navarro and Li at the Australian Open. The Polish veteran doesn't back down against top competition, having notched plenty of impressive scalps over the years. Seeded eighth here, Linette could face Navarro again in the quarterfinals.
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