Kevin Anderson Withdraws, Frances Tiafoe Receives Wild Card
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AUGUST 16, 2019)—Kevin Anderson, who was a recent wild card entry, has withdrawn from the Winston-Salem Open due to lingering health concerns associated with an earlier injury. The Winston-Salem Open has awarded a singles main draw wild card to 21-year-old Frances Tiafoe to replace Anderson.
Tiafoe is an American from Hyattsville, Md., who is currently ranked No. 52 after enjoying a career-high of 29 earlier this year. He owns one career ATP World Tour singles title from Delray Beach in 2018. Tiafoe also reached the final at Estoril in 2018. His best results this year were the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Miami.
Tiafoe was one of the most popular feel-good stories of the Winston-Salem Open in 2015. As a 17-year-old, he notched his first career ATP World Tour-level victory in Winston-Salem. Tiafoe won three matches to make it through qualifying and then beat James Duckworth for his first-ever tour-level win in the first round. It came two weeks after he had won the USTA Boys 18 & Under national championship. Tiafoe also played in the Winston-Salem Open in 2016 but lost in the first round to Taylor Fritz.
“We are disappointed that Kevin Anderson cannot play, but we want him to be healthy for the remainder of the year and appreciate him reaching out to us yesterday to discuss his current situation,” Winston-Salem Open Tournament Director Bill Oakes said. “Kevin is a great ambassador for the Winston-Salem Open and the game of tennis, and I am confident we will see him again soon in Winston-Salem.”
“I have been trying to get Frances Tiafoe to come back to Winston-Salem for several years and am excited he will compete in this year’s tournament,” he said. “Frances is one of the top young talents on the ATP Tour, and we look forward to his fun, competitive spirit and firepower this week.”
Tickets to the Winston-Salem Open are available online at WinstonSalemOpen.com/Tickets.
The 2019 Winston-Salem Open will be held August 17 through 24 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex adjacent to BB&T Field. The official Winston-Salem Open app is available to download now in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For more information on how to download the app, please visit WinstonSalemOpen.com.
