WASHINGTON, July 9, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
The Mubadala Citi DC Open, a summer fixture in the nation’s capital city for more than half a century, has released its preliminary main draw ATP and WTA fields ahead of the upcoming combined 500-series event, July 27 to August 4. The tournament kicks off the North American hard-court circuit.
Top men’s players entered include No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 14 Ben Shelton, No. 21 Sebastian Korda, No. 22 Karen Khachanov and No. 29 Frances Tiafoe. Meanwhile, No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 10 Ons Jabeur, No. 12 Daria Kasatkina, No. 13 Madison Keys and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka lead the women’s entries of the only combined ATP-WTA 500 event in the world.
Aryna Sabalenka (photo: WTA/Getty Images)
The tournament, in its 55th year, will take place on hard courts at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in northwest Washington’s Rock Creek Park — the same week as the Paris Olympic Games tournament on red clay at Roland-Garros. The Mubadala Citi DC Open is the fifth largest professional tennis event in the United States.
“We are very proud of the deep player field ready to compete in Washington DC at the 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open,” said Mark Ein, Mubadala Citi DC Open Chairman, in a statement. “We have assembled a fantastic group featuring Grand Slam Champions, former World No 1’s, top 10 players and many of the game’s biggest fan favorites. In less than a month, DC will host one of the summer’s largest events, drawing the world’s best players and tennis fans. With record breaking ticket sales, an impressive roster of athletes and an extraordinary fan experience on-site, we are anticipating another unforgettable tournament.”
Francis Tiafoe (photo: Mubadala Citi DC Open)
The preliminary field, released Tuesday, includes a total of nine Top-20 players (two men’s and seven women’s) as well as five Grand Slam champions, two past DC winners and 14 American players. All have opted to forgo the Olympic Games in order to concentrate on chasing after points and prize money offered by the North American hard-court events (Washington, Toronto/Montreal and Cincinnati) leading up to the US Open at the end of August.
Both last year’s men’s and women’s champions, Daniel Evans of Great Britain and Coco Gauff of the United States, will be competing at the Paris Olympic Games. So, it guarantees there will be new singles champions crowned.
The 2024 player field is out 🔥
🎾 3 Top 10 Players
🎾 5 Grand Slam champions
🎾 3 former World No. 1’s
🎾 2 past DC championsVisit our website for the full men’s and women’s lists!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 9, 2024
Dimitrov and Americans Shelton, Korda and Tiafoe highlight ATP draw
Highlights: World No. 10, three-time Grand Slam semifinalist and 2023 DC semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov; 2022 US Open semifinalist, former World No. 10 and Maryland native Frances Tiafoe; 2023 US Open semifinalist, recent U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships winner and World No. 14 Ben Shelton; 2022 DC and 2023 Australian Open quarterfinalist and World No. 21 Sebastian Korda; six-time ATP champion, two-time Grand Slam semifinalist and World No. 22 Karen Khachanov; 2021 DC finalist Mackenzie McDonald; 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist and 2022 Australian Open quarterfinalist Denis Shapovalov.
Sabalenka, Jabeur and Raducanu highlight WTA draw
Highlights: World No. 3 (former World No. 1) and 2023 and 2024 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka; World No. 10 and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur; 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu; former World No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka; World No. 12 and recent Eastbourne champion Daria Kasatkina; World No. 13, 2017 US Open finalist and recent Strasbourg winner Madison Keys; World No. 15 and 2022 DC Open champion Liudmila Samsonova; former World No. 2 and 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinalist Paula Badosa; two-time Grand Slam finalist and former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova; 2017 US Open champion and 2015 DC champion Sloane Stephens; 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
The Mubadala Citi DC Open’s ATP 500 event will feature 48 singles players and 16 doubles teams. The WTA 500 tournament will feature 32 singles competitors and 16 doubles teams. Additional players will join the main draws via wild card entry, to be announced in the coming weeks.
