Who got Performance Byes at China Open 2023? All you need to know about the players who received a bye into the second round of the tournament

The 2023 edition of the China Open is about to get underway on September 30. While top players such as Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will attract plenty of attention at the event, they have all been overshadowed by the recent controversy caused by the WTA introducing 'Performance Byes' in the women's singles draw.

Earlier this week, Elena Rybakina pulled out of the Pan Pacific Open ahead of her first-round match against Linda Noskova at the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo. Even though she later cited fitness issues for her withdrawal, many fans believe that the timing of her decision was rather odd.

The Kazakh had taken to social media last Saturday (September 23) to express her frustration at the WTA for not giving her a first-round bye in the women's singles draw in Tokyo. Instead, the women's governing body chose to award 'Performance Byes' to fourth and fifth seeds Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari, despite both being ranked lower than Rybakina.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner, who has also been at loggerheads with the WTA over their scheduling, was admittedly not impressed with them overlooking her for a first-round bye.

"Performance bye, thank you for changing the rules last moment. Great decisions as always WTA," she wrote on social media, followed by a clown and a circus emoji.

Pegula, Sakkari, Kudermetova, and Pavlyuchenkova receive Performance Byes at China Open 2023 by virtue of their performances in Tokyo

Jessica Pegula is seeded fourth at the 2023 China Open

The concept of Performance Byes has gained a lot of attention from fans since last week. At this week's China Open, four players have been granted a performance bye: fourth seed Jessica Pegula, sixth seed Maria Sakkari, World No. 19 Veronika Kudermetova, and the resurgent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

For what its worth, there is a sound logic behind giving players performance byes. The WTA had disclosed to the players months ago that they would experiment with the concept. They have implemented it at five tournaments till date — the 2009 Madrid Open, the 2014 China Open, the 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships, the 2023 Toray Pan Pacific Open, and the 2023 China Open.

The main reasoning behind awarding a performance bye to a player is that if they go deep at one event, they can be exempted from playing the first round of the following tournament. This gives them more time to adjust to the new time zone, while also replenishing their energy reserves.

This week, all four of Pegula, Sakkari, Kudermetova, and Pavlyuchenkova received byes at the China Open as they reached the semifinals of the 500-level tournament in Tokyo.

Even the performance byes to Sakkari and Garcia in Tokyo last week were justified by the same logic, as they both had featured in the last four of the preceding event in Guadalajara.