The initial ATP and WTA singles entry lists for the 2019 Western & Southern Open reveals that the world’s best tennis players will be coming to Cincinnati in August.
The top 40 players in the rankings of both the men's ATP and women's WTA tours have all entered the combined tournament that will be held Aug. 10-18 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The fields are highlighted by nine past Western & Southern Open champions, 12 players who have been the No. 1-ranked player in the world, and 17 players who have won a major championship. The initial 77 entrants represent 34 countries.
“Receiving the entry lists from the tours signifies we are just six weeks away from the tournament. When those lists include so many great players, it generates a great deal of anticipation for the event,” said Tournament Director Andre Silva. “It is an incredible time in tennis with so many accomplished champions still playing at a very high level, and we are eager to welcome them back to the Western & Southern Open in August.”
Two of the greatest players in the game, Serena Williams and Roger Federer, are the oldest players in the field at 37-years-old. However, the youth movement in tennis is challenging these legends. Twenty-nine of the 77 initial entrants are aged 23 or younger, including the top two WTA players: Ashleigh Barty (23) and Naomi Osaka (21). Four teenagers are among the entrants, the youngest being 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, a French Open semifinalist, and 18-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The nine former Western & Southern Open champions have won a combined 16 Cincinnati titles, including seven-time winner Federer among the men and two-time champion Williams among the women. The other WTA past champions include Victoria Azarenka (2013), Kiki Bertens (2018), Garbiñe Muguruza (2017) and Karolina Pliskova (2016), while Marin Cilic (2016), Novak Djokovic (2018) and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the past ATP winners.
Nine women and three men comprise the 12 Western & Southern Open entrants who have held the No. 1 ranking on their respective tours. Those dozen players have combined to hold the top spot for a total of 1,336 weeks, a tally which is greater than 25 years. Williams has the most weeks at No. 1 with 319, followed closely by Federer’s 310.
A total of 97 Grand Slam championships have been won by 17 of the players in the Western & Southern Open field. Federer has won 20 to lead the six men’s major winners in the field, while Williams owns 23 titles, the most among the 11 women’s major champions.
Click here for the initial player entry lists for the 2019 Western & Southern Open.
Both fields will have 56 players in the main draw. For the WTA, up to five players may be awarded wild cards, while eight players will gain entry through the two-round qualifying tournament that will be held during First Watch Opening Weekend, Aug. 10-11. Seven men will advance through qualifying, and four wild cards will be awarded. An additional men’s spot will be held open for a special exempt.
The qualifying entry lists will be announced the week of July 19. Alongside the singles tournament will be the doubles events, featuring 28 women’s and 32 men’s teams. The initial entry lists for those events will be released the week of July 26.
The Western & Southern Open is one of five cities in the world to host top-level men’s and women’s tour events at the same venue during the week. The men’s event is an ATP Masters 1000, while the women’s is a WTA Premier 5. The tournament is a part of the US Open Series.
Tickets for all sessions of the Western & Southern Open are on sale now and can be purchased at wsopen.com. Last year, 14 of 16 sessions sold out, as more than 194,000 fans attended the event, marking the fourth time in five years attendance surpassed 190,000.