Latvia's top player Alena Ostapenko will start the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, where she became the champion last year, with a match against Russian player Mira Andreyeva, as revealed by the draw, reports LETA.
In the WTA rankings, Ostapenko is ranked 23rd, while Andreyeva is the tenth-ranked player in the world and is seeded sixth at this tournament.
In the second round, the winner of this match will face German tennis player Noma Noah Akugue (WTA 192), who received a wildcard from the organizers, or one of the players who qualified.
Ostapenko will need to defend 500 ranking points at this tournament, and a failure to do so will result in a drop in her ranking.
Ostapenko and Andreyeva have not faced each other previously in their careers.
The last tournament for Latvia's top player was a similar level competition in Linz, where she reached the quarterfinals, while Andreyeva advanced to the final and will compete for the title on Sunday.
The 18-year-old Andreyeva won two WTA 1000 series tournaments last year, allowing her to rise to fifth place in the rankings, where Ostapenko, who is ten years older, had previously been.
The Latvian tennis player will compete in Stuttgart for the eighth time.
The tournament in Stuttgart is held on clay courts.
