ATX Open draw: Danielle Collins seeded as swan song continues

Danielle Collins in action
Danielle Collins reacts during a match

Former top ten star Danielle Collins continues her final WTA Tour season at the ATX Open in Austin, Texas next week.

Collins is seeded No 3 for the WTA 250 event but there are no byes through the first round of the 32-player tournament.

A semifinalist at the inaugural ATX Open, Collins has announced her intent to retire at the end of the season making this a special stop for her.

Collins is part of a trio of American seeds being joined by No 2 Sloane Stephens and No 7 Peyton Stearns.

Stearns should be thrilled to return to the ATX Open, which was the venue where she won her first WTA Tour match and reached her first quarterfinal last season.

An All-American for the University of Texas, Stearns led the Longhorns to back-to-back NCAA team titles while also claiming the 2022 singles crown and is a true home hope for this event.

Stearns is set to take on three-time WTA title winner Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in her first round engagement.

Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina has been installed as the No 1 seed at a WTA tournament for the first time in her career in Austin.

Each of the top three seeds – Kalinina, Stephens and Collins – will play a qualifier in the opening round.

Former Texas state champion Fernanda Contreras, a player for Austin’s Westlake High School, is another athlete in the field with local ties. American Taylor Townsend will be Contreras’ first opponent in the ATX Open.

Townsend has been a professional since her All-American time at Vanderbilt although she took some time away from the game after the birth of her son Adyn.

Unseeded Colombian Camila Osorio who opens against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, could face top-seeded Kalinina if she gets past that test.

After reaching the last eight in 2023 Katie Volynets has been handed a wildcard entry.

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Volynets will face Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in the opening round and could meet Collins in the second round.

In 2023, Volynets rallied from 5–0 down and a match point in the third set to win her match against third seed Anastasia Potapova in the last 16.

No 4 seed Lucia Bronzetti starts against one of three Chinese players in the field in the shape of Yafan Wang.

The other two Chinese entrants are No 6 seed Xiyu Wang and No 8 seed Yue Yuan.

Wang opens her bid against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska and Yuan starts against Australia’s Arina Rodionova.