CINCINNATI (July 2, 2019) – The release of 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 August 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 Major 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.
Here are the initial player entry lists for the 2019 Western & Southern Open:
WTA Rank • Name (Nationality) Age
1 Ashleigh Barty (Australia) 23
2 Naomi Osaka (Japan) 21
3 Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 27
4 Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 27
5 Angelique Kerber (Germany) 31
6 Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 29
7 Simona Halep (Romania) 27
8 Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 24
9 Sloane Stephens (USA) 26
10 Serena Williams (USA) 37
11 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) 21
12 Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 29
13 Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 22
14 Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) 20
15 Qiang Wang (China) 27
16 Madison Keys (USA) 24
17 Julia Goerges (Germany) 30
18 Johanna Konta (Great Britain) 28
19 Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 28
20 Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) 23
21 Elise Mertens (Belgium) 23
22 Donna Vekic (Croatia) 23
23 Caroline Garcia (France) 25
24 Petra Martic (Croatia) 28
25 Bianca Andreescu (Canada) 19
26 Amanda Anisimova (USA) 17
27 Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain) 25
28 Sofia Kenin (USA) 20
29 Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) 33
30 Daria Kasatkina (Russia) 22
31 Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 30
32 Maria Sakkari (Greece) 23
33 Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 30
34 Danielle Collins (USA) 25
35 Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) 19
36 Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus) 25
37 Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 22
38 Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 23
39 Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) 24
40 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 29
42 Camila Giorgi (Italy) 27
43 Saisai Zheng (China) 25
UR Cici Bellis* (USA) 20
* Unranked, using injury special ranking of 43
ATP Rank • Name (Nationality) Age
1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 32
2 Rafael Nadal (Spain) 33
3 Roger Federer (Switzerland) 37
4 Dominic Thiem (Austria) 25
5 Alexander Zverev (Germany) 22
6 Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 20
7 Kei Nishikori (Japan) 28
8 Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 33
9 Karen Khachanov (Russia) 23
10 Fabio Fognini (Italy) 32
11 Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) 30
12 John Isner (USA) 34
13 Daniil Medvedev (Russia) 23
14 Borna Coric (Croatia) 22
15 Gael Monfils (France) 32
16 Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgia) 27
17 Milos Raonic (Canada) 28
18 Marin Cilic (Croatia) 30
19 Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) 34
20 Matteo Berrettini (Italy) 23
21 Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada) 18
22 Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) 31
23 David Goffin (Belgium) 28
24 Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) 26
25 Gilles Simon (France) 34
26 Guido Pella (Argentina) 29
27 Denis Shapovalov (Canada) 20
28 Lucas Pouille (France) 25
29 Alex de Minaur (Australia) 20
30 Kyle Edmund (Great Britain) 24
31 Taylor Fritz (USA) 21
32 Benoit Paire (France) 30
33 Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 29
34 Cristian Garin (Chile) 23
35 Laslo Djere (Serbia) 24
36 Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 29
37 Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 35
38 Frances Tiafoe (USA) 21
39 Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France) 28
40 Radu Albot (Macedonia) 29
41 Marco Cecchinato (Italy) 26
42 Adrian Mannarino (France) 31
43 Nick Kyrgios (Australia) 24
47 Richard Gasquet* (France) 33
* Using injury protected ranking of 26
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 while 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 member of the US Open Series.
In addition to the tennis, the event features more than 50 musical acts, 20 food vendors, six signature bar areas and a retail plaza for patrons to enjoy between matches.
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.
