CITI OPEN ANNOUNCES STRONGEST FIELD IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Shapovalov, Keys, Tsonga, Bencic, Khachanov and Isner join blockbuster Citi Open field

Five Top 10 players, Grand Slam champions, Next Gen stars, and top Americans headed to D.C.

New player additions join lineup that already includes Tsitsipas, Nishikori, Anderson, Stephens, Monfils, Andreescu, Auger-Aliassime, Kyrgios and Tiafoe

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 18, 2019) – The player lineup for the 2019 Citi Open has it all. In what’s being heralded as the strongest field in tournament history, a mix of current champions, next-generation stars and fan favorites were announced today for the 2019 Citi Open, set for July 27-August 4, at Rock Creek Tennis Center.

The latest player entries include some of the most compelling stars from the ATP Tour, including Denis Shapovalov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Karen Khachanov, Milos Raonic, John Isner, Benoit Paire, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Marin Cilic, Kyle Edmund and Tomas Berdych.

Top WTA players added to the Citi Open field include Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic, Sofia Kenin, Monica Puig and Genie Bouchard.

Today’s exceptional list of headliners join an already impressive group of players that were previously announced, including world No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori (No. 7), Kevin Anderson (No. 8), world No. 9 Sloane Stephens, 2016 Citi Open champion Gael Monfils, 2019 Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu, Australian fan favorite Nick Kyrgios and next-generation standouts, 18-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and hometown favorite Frances Tiafoe of Hyattsville, Md.

“The talent level of the player lineup for this summer’s Citi Open is incredible,” said Mark Ein, CEO of MDE Tennis that is running the tournament. “This is one of the most exciting and deepest player fields we have ever seen here in Washington.  From the first to the last match, the stands will be buzzing as fans will get to see the biggest talents and personalities in the sport. Every session across all our match courts will be packed with compelling match-ups of must-see tennis.” Ein also noted that the upgraded fan experience won’t be limited to the incredible action on the court as the tournament will announce details of an enhanced fan and food experience later this week as part of the new look for the annual event.

“We are excited for the dynamic field at this year’s Citi Open and look forward to welcoming the community to Washington’s marquee tennis event this summer,” said Tina Davis, Managing Director, Head of Global Sponsorship, Citi.

Single session tickets go on sale June 18 at www.CitiOpenTennis.com or by calling the Tournament Hotline at 202-721-9500. Single session tickets, which start at $25, are available as well as limited full-series and weekender ticket packages.

Fans looking for the next generation of breakthrough champions and engaging personalities won’t have to look any further than this year’s Citi Open. Canadian Shapovalov, 20, vaulted into the Top 20 for the first time in April after advancing to the Miami Open semifinals one month earlier. Shapovalov has been marked as one of the top young players to watch since his 2017 run to the Montreal semifinals as a wild card, ousting Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal along the way.

De Minaur, currently ranked No. 26, was a finalist at the 2018 Citi Open where he became a fan favorite with his memorable semifinal victory, saving four match points in a three-set thriller over Rublev. De Minaur also finished as runner-up to Tsitsipas at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, and the 20-year-old Aussie captured his first career ATP title in January 2019 with a straight set win over Andreas Seppi on the outdoor hard courts in Sydney. Another player to watch is the 21-year-old Rublev who made the semifinals in his Citi Open debut in 2018, the Russian’s best result in an ATP 500 event.

Fans can expect to watch many of the most exciting tennis players in the world with the addition of French showstoppers, Tsonga and Paire. The charismatic Tsonga is back in D.C. for the first time since 2009. After missing much of the 2018 season with a knee injury, Tsonga returned to form earlier this year to win his 17^th singles trophy in Montpelier. Paire won two clay court titles this year, taking home the crown in Marrakech and also in Lyon, where he toppled Auger-Aliassime in the championship match.

The field for the ATP tournament, the only ATP Tour 500 level event in the U.S., also includes a slate of proven hard court champions. World No. 9 Khachanov captured the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris last year, then returned to France in 2019 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros. Isner, currently the top-ranked American man at No. 11, returned to the Miami Open finals in March, one year after his biggest tournament triumph where he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Top-ranked Canadian and former world No. 3 Raonic has won eight ATP singles titles including the 2014 Citi Open.

Croatian Cilic is a 3-time Grand Slam finalist whose career highlights include winning the 2014 US Open over Nishikori. Former Wimbledon finalist Berdych, who began the 2019 season by reaching the final in Doha, is back at the Citi Open for the first time since 2014. British No. 1 Edmund, a former Australian Open semifinalist, will also be featured in the men’s draw.

The women’s field will include Bencic, who has risen to No. 13 in the WTA rankings thanks to 30 match wins thus far in 2019, and American Keys, who won her 4^th WTA Tour title earlier this year in Charleston. Keys is returning to Washington for the first time since 2014.

The 20-year-old American Kenin, who recently upended Serena Williams at the French Open and moved up to a career-high ranking of No. 30, will make her first Citi Open appearance. Kenin started her 2019 campaign by winning her first WTA singles title in Hobart. Other WTA players to watch include 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic who is top 50 in singles and the world No. 1 in doubles, and former Top 5 and Wimbledon finalist Bouchard.

The Citi Open, the fifth largest pro tennis event in the U.S., is the only ATP 500 tournament staged in the U.S. and one of only 13 around the world. It also offers fans one of the few opportunities to see stars from both the ATP and WTA Tours compete at the same venue at the same time.

This year marks the first time the Citi Open falls under the direction of MDE Tennis, the sports management company headed by Washington entrepreneur and philanthropist Ein. The 2019 event will showcase the long-running District tennis tournament as “Washington’s Summer Tradition Reimagined” with significant enhanced experiences expected throughout the venue, including concessions and merchandise.

Citi Open returns to the US Open Series for the first time since 2014. The US Open Series is a summer hard-court swing of men’s and women’s tournaments leading up to the US Open. Other US Open Series cities include Atlanta (ATP), San José (WTA), Toronto (WTA), Montreal (ATP), Cincinnati (ATP/WTA), Winston-Salem (ATP).

The longtime beneficiary of Citi Open is the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, a non-profit which provides free tennis and educational programs for children in underserved communities. The tournament is one of WTEF’s biggest annual fundraisers and has raised millions for youth programs in the Washington D.C. area.

For more information, visit www.CitiOpenTennis.com, follow Citi Open on Facebook.com/citiopen, @CitiOpen on Twitter, or CitiOpen on Instagram.