WASHINGTON -- Angelique Kerber, currently ranked No. 9 in the WTA rankings, will make her Washington debut at the Citi Open, which will be held July 27-August 4 at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. The 25-year-old German player will receive a wild card into the main draw.
 
Kerber currently claims the top seed of the tournament, with world No. 16 Sloane Stephens as the second seed. Kerber joins an already impressive women’s field featuring 12 of the top 50-ranked players, including Stephens, returning champion Magdalena Rybarikova, Simona Halep, Kaia Kanepi, Ekaterina Makarova, Alize Cornet, Sorana Cirstea, Madison Keys and Monica Niculescu. The field also boasts WTA rising stars Eugenie Bouchard, Heather Watson, Christina McHale, International Tennis Federation (ITF) 2012 World Champion Taylor Townsend and former world No. 9 Andrea Petkovic, among many others.
 
Kerber, currently the highest-ranked German, holds two WTA singles titles and 11 ITF singles titles. In 2012, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 5. She has reached the semifinals of two Grand Slam tournaments—the US Open in 2011 and Wimbledon in 2012.
 
"We are excited to add a player of Angelique’s caliber to this year’s Citi Open women’s field," said Jeff Newman, tournament director. "She and Sloane make great No. 1 and No. 2 seeds at the top of our WTA International singles main draw."
 
Meanwhile, Nadia Petrova, the 2011 Citi Open champ, has withdrawn from the tournament this week due to a hip injury. Per her doctor's recommendations, Petrova will take some time off to rest and receive treatment over the next three weeks. Petrova joins Romina Oprandi, who also had to withdraw this week due to a right shoulder injury. They are replaced in the draw by Paula Ormaechea of Argentina and Olga Puchkova of Russia.
 
The Citi Open features a WTA International level women’s tournament, consisting of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams.
 
The men’s tournament, now in its 45th year, is one of only 11 elite ATP World Tour 500-level events worldwide and the only one held in the United States. The event is also part of the prestigious Emirates Airline US Open Series, the five-week summer tennis season that links nine North American hard-court tournaments to the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. It features 48 men’s singles players and 16 doubles teams.