Chicago Fall Tennis Classic 2021: Women's singles draw analysis, preview & prediction

Elina Svitolina leads the field at the newly-minted Chicago Fall Tennis Classic, the second WTA tour event scheduled to be played in the Illinois city this fall.

Joining the Ukrainian in the field are former Grand Slam winners Garbine Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka and Bianca Andreescu, Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, and a slew of in-form players including Anasatasia Pavlyuchebkova, Ons Jabeur and Camila Giorgi.

The Chicago event is scheduled to take place from 27 September to 3 October, with main-draw action getting underway from Monday. Here, we take a look at the prospects of some of the big names in the fray.

1st quarter: Elina Svitolina faces tough test from Ons Jabeur and Camila Giorgi

Ons Jabeur will be action for the first time since the US Open

Top seeded players: [1] Elina Svitolina, [6] Ons Jabeur, [9] Jessica Pegula, [15] Camila Giorgi

Expected quarterfinal: Elina Svitolina vs Ons Jabeur

Dark horse: Camila Giorgi

Top seed Elina Svitolina will open her campaign against the winner of an exciting first-round encounter between Amanda Anisimova and Viktorija Golubic. Both Anisimova and Golubic have shown plenty of positive signs in recent weeks, which means Svitolina could have a tough test at the very first hurdle.

Also in this section is the big-hitting duo of Marta Kostyuk and Camila Giorgi. The two are likely to cross paths at the second round stage, with the winner taking on Svitolina next.

Giorgi recently won the biggest title of her career in Montreal a couple of months ago. If the Italian finds her range early, she could well be the one to watch out for in this quarter.

Hsieh Su-Wei takes on Kim Clijsters in an intriguing first-round affair.

Svitolina's projected quarterfinal opponent is sixth seed Ons Jabeur, who will also be playing in her first tournament since the US Open. Jabeur will take on the winner of one of the most intriguing first-rounds matches of the week, between the crafty Hsieh Su-wei and the returning Kim Clijsters.

Jabeur will be fancying her chances of making it through to the third round, but could face a stern test from home hope Jessica Pegula at that stage. Pegula, however, will have to first find her way past a resurgent Andrea Petkovic.

Prediction for quarterfinal: Elina Svitolina def. Ons Jabeur

2nd quarter: Belinda Bencic and Elena Rybakina headed for Olympic rematch

Belinda Bencic anchors the second quarter.

Top seeded players: [3] Belinda Bencic, [5] Elena Rybakina, [12] Veronika Kudermetova, [13] Tamara Zidansek

Expected quarterfinal: Belinda Bencic vs Elena Rybakina

Dark horse: Sloane Stephens

Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and fourth-place finisher Elena Rybakina find themselves heading towards a rematch of the Tokyo Games semifinal.

Bencic has a relatively simple path to the third round, where she could face her first real test in the form of either 13th seed Tamara Zidansek or former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Zidansek and Stephens are locked in a first-round matchup, but the winner here should have enough momentum to reach the last-16.

Elena Rybakina has made some runs at hardcourt events of late.

For Rybakinda, the main challenge will come from Madison Keys, who she could face as early as the second round. Keys hasn't been in the best form of late, but definitely has the game to score an upset.

The winner of this battle will, in all likelihood, slug it out with Veronika Kudermetova for the all-important quarterfinal spot.

Prediction for quarterfinal: Elena Rybakina def. Belinda Bencic

3rd quarter: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elise Mertens and Danielle Collins to fight for supremacy

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has landed in a packed section.

Top seeded players: [4] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, [7] Elise Mertens, [10] Danielle Collins, [16] Jil Teichmann

Expected quarterfinal: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elise Mertens

Dark horse: Magda Linette

Fourth seed and Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has landed in a packed section of the draw. In her opener, the Russian will take on the winner of the first-round encounter featuring Ajla Tomljanovic and Marketa Vondrousova.

If Pavlyuchenkova were to come through that match, she could run into 16th seed Jil Teichmann in the Round of 16. Teichmann, however, has plenty of hurdles of her own leading up to that stage.

The Swiss opens against the big-hitting Kaia Kanepi and could next run into Magda Linette. Linette will be raring to bounce back after a couple of tight losses in her last two hardcourt tournaments.

Danielle Collins could spring a surprise or two,

Elise Mertens and Danille Collins are the other big names in this quarter. The former has received a bye in her opener, but will need to be at her best to get past the winner of the Alize Cornet vs Dayana Yastremska first-round match.

For Collins, who is also making her first appearance since Flushing Meadows, the path to a third-round meeting against Mertens looks rather straightforward.

Prediction for quarterfinal: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Danielle Collins

4th quarter: Anett Kontaveit and Victoria Azarenka look to topple Bianca Andreescu and Garbine Muguruza respectively

Top seeded players: [2] Garbine Muguruza, [8] Bianca Andreescu, [11] Anett Kontaveit, [14] Victoria Azarenka

Expected quarterfinal: Garbine Muguruza vs Bianca Andreescu

Dark horse: Victoria Azarenka

For second seed Garbine Muguruza, the path to the quarterfinals in Chicago looks all too familiar. The Spaniard is staring at a rematch of her US Open first-round match against Donna Vekic in her opener here.

Another repeat matchup from New York then awaits Muguruza in the third round, in the form of Victoria Azarenka.

Bianca Andreescu will look to pose a solid result after a largely disappointing season.

There's a mini-battle brewing on the other side of this quarter, featuring former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and the in-form Anett Kontaveit.

Andreescu appeared to have rediscovered some of her lost form in New York a few weeks ago, and will look to build on the momentum. She could, however, face some resistance from Shelby Rogers - the conqueror of World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in New York - before running into Kontaveit.

The latter has been in a rich vein of form and is currently scheduled to play in the final of the Ostrava Open, her second in as many months. Barring fatigue, there isn't much standing in Kontaveit's path to another deep run.

Prediction for quarterfinal: Anett Kontaveit def. Garbine Muguruza