Defending Champion Maria Sharapova Joined By Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis and Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winners of 30 Grand Slam Singles Titles and 8 US Open Titles Featured
Related: Federer Headlines US Open Men's Singles Field
The USTA has announced that defending champion Maria Sharapova will be joined by five other former US Open women’s singles champions -- Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Hingis -- in the women’s singles field for the 2007 US Open Tennis Championships.
In all, 99 of the top-100 women, representing 34 different countries, received direct entry into the 2007 US Open. No. 68 Lindsay Davenport, the 1998 US Open champion, did not enter. She gave birth to her first child in June.
The 2007 US Open will be played August 27 – September 9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.4 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.4 million potential payout) based on their performances in the US Open Series. The US Open Women’s Singles Championship is presented by JPMorgan Chase.
Leading the entry list is world No. 1 Henin of Belgium, the 2003 US Open champion and last year’s runner-up. Following Henin on the entry list are No. 2 Sharapova; No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia; No. 4 Kuznetsova of Russia, the 2004 US Open champion; No. 5 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the reigning US Open Series champion; No. 6 Amelie Mauresmo of France, who won the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles; No. 7 Serena Williams of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who won her eighth career Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open this year; and No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia.
In all, there are seven entrants who have won Grand Slam singles titles in their careers.
Other American women who received direct entry into this year’s tournament include No. 17 Venus Williams of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who won her sixth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year; No. 39 Meghann Shaughnessy of Scottsdale, Ariz.; No. 41 Meilen Tu of Porter Ranch, Calif.; No. 54 Laura Granville of Chicago, Ill.; No. 66 Jill Craybas of East Greenwich, R.I.; No. 84 Vania King of Long Beach, Calif.; No. 87 Ashley Harkleroad of Wesley Chapel, Fla.; and No. 99 Bethanie Mattek of Miami, Fla.
Alberta Brianti of Italy, ranked No. 105, was the 104th and last player accepted directly into the women’s field of 128. Sixteen more players will gain entry through the US Open Qualifying Tournament, August 21-24, while the remaining eight spots are wild cards awarded by the USTA.
The July 16 edition of the Sony Ericsson WTA Rankings was used to determine the US Open main draw entry list. Seedings will be based on the August 20 rankings.
The 2007 US Open will mark the culmination of the US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking all major ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments in North America to the US Open. The US Open is the highest annually-attended sporting event in the world. More than 95 million viewers watched the 2006 US Open on CBS Sports and USA Network, and international broadcasts reached more than 180 countries. In 2006, Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick to win his third consecutive US Open. In the women’s singles final, Maria Sharapova defeated Justine Henin to capture her first US Open title. Both Roddick and Sharapova collected $500,000 in Bonus Prize Money based on their performance in the US Open Series and at the US Open.
The 2007 US Open will be held Monday, August 27 through Sunday, September 9. Tickets for the 2007 US Open can be purchased four ways: 1) at usopen.org; 2) by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866-OPEN-TIX; 3) at all Ticketmaster outlets; or 4) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office. American Express is the Official Card of the US Open.