Western & Southern Open News: World No. 1s Alcaraz, Swiatek Lead Player Field

By Mariana Smithville

Carlos Alcaraz 2022 photo. By si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

Djokovic Returns to Cincinnati as One of 14 Grand Slam Champions, 11 Past Tournament Winners and Eight Current or Former No. 1 Players

Iga Świątek at the 2019 French Open. By si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0, https commons.wikimedia.org
CINCINNATI (July 18, 2023) – The 2023 Western & Southern Open preliminary player fields have been announced and among the top-ranked players fans will see are Wimbledon champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova as well as finalists Novak Djokovic and Ons Jabeur. Djokovic is returning to play in front of Cincinnati fans for the first time in four years and it is scheduled to be his first tournament in the U.S. since 2021.

 

The initial entry list includes the world’s top 41 men and 39 women, 14 Grand Slam champions, eight current or former world No. 1-ranked players and 11 past tournament champions.

“As one of the premier tournaments in the world, it’s not surprising to see an elite field enter for the chance to win the Western & Southern Open,” said Tournament Director Todd Martin. “We look forward to these world class players coming to Cincinnati to write another chapter in this event’s rich history while they aspire to win one of the most important events of their season.”

The Western & Southern Open is one of only five events globally to host an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, joining Madrid, Miami, Rome and Indian Wells, California. All of this year’s 1000-level tournament winners so far are Grand Slam champions except 2021 Cincinnati finalist Andrey Rublev. The men’s winners include Alcaraz (Indian Wells, Madrid), Daniil Medvedev (Miami, Rome) and Rublev (Monte Carlo), while the women’s champions are Barbora Krejcikova (Dubai), Elena Rybakina (Indian Wells, Rome), Petra Kvitova (Miami) and Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid).

 

World No. 1 Alcaraz, 20, will be aiming for his first title in Cincinnati. In addition to winning his first Wimbledon title last weekend, he is the reigning US Open champion. He is the youngest on the men’s entry list among fellow 20-year-olds Holger Rune and Ben Shelton.

 

Two-time Western & Southern Open champion Djokovic is a Cincinnati stalwart, having been a finalist five additional times and owning a 40-12 record at the tournament. At age 36, he would be the oldest man to ever win this tournament dating back to 1899, but he is joined by two other slightly older 36-year-olds in the draw – two-time winner Andy Murray and quarterfinalist Gael Monfils. Djokovic is the all-time men’s leader with 23 Grand Slam singles titles including this year’s Australian and French Opens.

 

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No. 2 Sabalenka and No. 3 Rybakina are all vying for their first Western & Southern Open crown. Swiatek is the current title holder at both the US Open and French Open while Australian Open winner Sabalenka has claimed one 1000-level event this year, and former Wimbledon winner Rybakina has won two 1000-level events and reached the Australian Open final this season. Of the three, Sabalenka has the best record in Cincinnati where she has reached two semifinals.

 

Nipping at the heels of the top three women are No. 4 American Jessica Pegula, No. 5 and reigning Western & Southern Open champion Caroline Garcia, and No. 6 Jabeur. American Coco Gauff, last year’s W&S Open finalist Kvitova, Maria Sakkari and new Wimbledon champion Vondrousova round out the world’s top 10 women, all of whom will compete in Cincinnati. Gauff, 19, is the only teenager on either entry list and would be the youngest woman to win the title in the Open Era (1969).

 

American Christopher Eubanks vaulted up to No. 31 in the world after his surprising run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, earning a direct entry into the Western & Southern Open for the first time. He will be joined by Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, both ranked in the world’s Top 10.

 

Another Wimbledon star headed to Cincinnati is Elina Svitolina, who just returned to the tour from maternity leave in April after giving birth in October to daughter, Skaï, with husband and ATP entrant Monfils. She defeated four Grand Slam champions en route to the Wimbledon semifinals and is one of four mothers on the initial entry list for the Western & Southern Open.

Former tournament champions in the draw include Djokovic, Medvedev, Murray, Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov for the men, and Garcia, Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova on the women’s side.

Current or former No 1-ranked players are men Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Murray, and women Swiatek, Azarenka, Pliskova and previously announced wild card entrant Caroline Wozniacki, who is returning from a three-year retirement.

Preliminary entry lists:

ATP

Rank, Name (Age), Country

  1. Carlos Alcaraz (20), Spain
  2. Novak Djokovic (36), Serbia
  3. Daniil Medvedev (27)
  4. Casper Ruud (24), Norway
  5. Stefanos Tsitsipas (24), Greece
  6. Holger Rune (20), Denmark
  7. Andrey Rublev (25)
  8. Jannik Sinner (21), Italy
  9. Taylor Fritz (25), USA
  10. Frances Tiafoe (25), USA
  11. Karen Khachanov (27)
  12. Felix Auger-Aliassime (22), Canada
  13. Cameron Norrie (27), Great Britain
  14. Tommy Paul (26), USA
  15. Borna Coric (26), Croatia
  16. Lorenzo Musetti (21), Italy
  17. Hubert Hurkacz (26), Poland
  18. Alex de Minaur (24), Australia
  19. Alexander Zverev (26), Germany
  20. Francisco Cerundolo (24), Argentina
  21. Grigor Dimitrov (32), Bulgaria
  22. Pablo Carreno Busta (32), Spain
  23. Denis Shapovalov (24), Canada
  24. Jan-Lennard Struff (33), Germany
  25. Roberto Bautista Agut (35), Spain
  26. Nicolas Jarry (27), Chile
  27. Alexander Bublik (26), Kazakhstan
  28. Sebastian Korda (23), USA
  29. Daniel Evans (33), Great Britain
  30. Yoshihito Nishioka (27), Japan
  31. Christopher Eubanks (27), USA
  32. Matteo Berrettini (27), Italy
  33. Jiri Lehecka (21), Czech Republic
  34. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (23), Argentina
  35. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (24), Spain
  36. Tallon Griekspoor (27), Netherlands
  37. Nick Kyrgios (28), Australia
  38. Adrian Mannarino (35), France
  39. Ben Shelton (20), USA
  40. Ugo Humbert (25), France
  41. Andy Murray (36), Great Britain

102* Marin Cilic (34), Croatia

315* Gael Monfils (36), France

545* Milos Raonic (32), Canada

WTA

Rank, Name (Age), Country

  1. Iga Swiatek (22), Poland
  2. Aryna Sabalenka (25)
  3. Elena Rybakina (24), Kazakhstan
  4. Jessica Pegula (29), USA
  5. Caroline Garcia (29), France
  6. Ons Jabeur (28), Tunisia
  7. Coco Gauff (19), USA
  8. Petra Kvitova (33), Czech Republic
  9. Maria Sakkari (27), Greece
  10. Marketa Vondrousova (24), Czech Rep.
  11. Daria Kasatkina (26)
  12. Barbora Krejcikova (27), Czech Rep.
  13. Beatriz Haddad Maia (27), Brazil
  14. Veronika Kudermetova (26)
  15. Belina Bencic (26), Switzerland
  16. Madison Keys (28), USA
  17. Liudmila Samsonova (24)
  18. Karolina Muchova (26), Czech Rep.
  19. Victoria Azarenka (33)
  20. Jelena Ostapenko (26), Latvia
  21. Ekaterina Alexandrova (28)
  22. Donna Vekic (27), Croatia
  23. Karolina Pliskova (31), Czech Rep.
  24. Anastasia Potapova (22)
  25. Magda Linette (31), Poland
  26. Qinwen Zheng (20), China
  27. Elina Svitolina (28), Ukraine
  28. Anhelina Kalinina (26), Ukraine
  29. Marie Bouzkova (24), Czech Rep.
  30. Elise Mertens (27), Belgium
  31. Irina-Camelia Begu (32), Romania
  32. Sorana Cirstea (33), Romania
  33. Katerina Siniakova (27), Czech Rep.
  34. Paula Badosa (25), Spain
  35. Marta Kostyuk (21), Ukraine
  36. Petra Martic (32), Croatia
  37. Anna Blinkova (24)
  38. Mayar Sherif (27), Egypt
  39. Bernarda Pera (28), USA

108* Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32)

423* Barbora Strycova (37), Czech Rep

NR* Jennifer Brady (28), USA

NR-WC Caroline Wozniacki (33), Denmark

BOLD indicates past Western & Southern Open champion

*entry secured with injury protected ranking

NR = no ranking

WC = wild card

The top eight seeds in both draws will receive first round byes. Eight women and seven men will be added to the fields through a two-round qualifying tournament that will be held Aug. 12-13. Four men and four additional women will be awarded wild card entries into the main draw singles fields. One additional player may be added into each draw as a special exempt.

Tournament action will take place Aug. 12-20, where first serve will take place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 12 for the qualifying tournament. The men’s and women’s singles finals will take place on Sunday, Aug. 20. The schedule is available here.

The 2022 singles championships were won by Caroline Garcia and Borna Coric while the doubles titles were claimed by Lyudmyla Kichenok & Jelena Ostapenko and Rajeev Ram & Joe Salisbury. Kichenok won her first Grand Slam title last weekend at Wimbledon, capturing the mixed doubles championship.

 

Tickets for single sessions to the 2023 tournament are on sale now at wsopen.com and Ticketmaster.com. Ticket packages for this year’s tournament sold out by mid-June.

About the Western & Southern Open

Founded in 1899, the Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 tournament. The Western & Southern Open annually welcomes nearly 200,000 fans who come from all 50 states and 40 countries and is seen by more than 126 million global viewers in over 192 global markets. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $12 million to various beneficiaries including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the UC Health Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth. The Western & Southern Open is held annually at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. For more information, visit www.wsopen.com.

About the WTA

Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1600 players representing over 80 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The Hologic WTA Tour is comprised of over 70 events and four Grand Slams, spanning 30 countries and regions across six continents with a global audience of nearly 900 million. Further information on the WTA can be found at wtatennis.com.

About the ATP

As the global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. We

entertain a billion global fans, showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments,and inspire the next generation of fans and players. From the United Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and Pepperstone ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, presented by Pepperstone, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit www.ATPTour.com.

 

COURTESY WESTERN & SOURTHERN OPEN COMMUNICATIONS