WASHINGTON, July 29, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
The Mubadala Citi DC Open has been a summer fixture in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital city, for more than half a century. The tournament kicks off the North American hard-court circuit, which includes upcoming stops in Montreal, Toronto and Cincinnati leading up to the US Open. This year, despite going head-to-head with the Paris Olympic Games, there’s plenty of star power on hand at Rock Creek Park to whet the appetite of all tennis fans.
The tournament, the only ATP/WTA combined 500-series event in the world – and fifth largest pro tournament in the United States – is led by World No. 9 Andrey Rublev of Russia and No. 14 Ben Shelton of the United States in the men’s draw and World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 12 Daria Kasatkina of Russia in the women’s draw. Add to the mix popular Americans Frances Tiafoe, a nearby Maryland native, and Sebastian Korda plus international favorites Emma Raducanu of Great Britain and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and it’s no surprise why the Mubadala Citi DC Open is regarded a fan-favorite event as well as an important stepping stone to preparing for next month’s US Open.
Look who’s back in DC 😀#MubadalaCitiDCOpen • @FTiafoe pic.twitter.com/yQnAK7UdxV
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
Korda, ranked 23rd and seeded fourth, said it wasn’t a difficult decision to prioritize coming back to play in Washington, D.C. “It’s pretty easy coming back here,” he said in his pre-tournament news conference Saturday. “It’s definitely one of the most comfortable tournaments on tour. I’ve been coming here since I was 14 years-old. …
“Really enjoy it. It’s super comfortable. Great ownership of the tournament. They try to do everything they possibly can to make us feel comfortable. We really appreciate it.”
World No. 13 Jabeur, who is seeded fourth, concurs with Korda. “I’m very happy to be back here in Washington,” she said during her pre-tournament news conference on Saturday. “I enjoyed playing [here] couple of years ago. To my fans that are here waiting to see me, I hope I can be able to play 100 percent and perform really well.”
It’s been a while 👋
Lovely to have @Ons_Jabeur join us in DC for the first time since 2019 😀#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/mFeh7hd6rq
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
Both last year’s men’s and women’s singles champions, Daniel Evans of Great Britain and Coco Gauff of the United States, are competing at the Paris Olympic Games. So, it guarantees there will be new single champions crowned next Sunday.
The tournament, now in its 55th year, takes place on the hard courts at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in northwest Washington. It began as a vision by late Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe of playing a professional tournament in a fully-accessible public park and is carried on by Washington-based venture capitalist, entrepreneur and civic leader Mark Ein, who became chairman of the event in 2019. The Mubadala Citi DC Open has continued to build and expand the annual event, with the goal of positively impacting the Washington, D.C. community and creating one of the best tennis events in the world. It benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation.
“We are very proud of the deep player field ready to compete in Washington, D.C. at the Mubadala Citi DC Open,” said Ein in a statement. “We have assembled a fantastic group featuring Grand Slam champions, former World No. 1s, top 10 players and many of the game’s fan favorites.
“With record-breaking ticket sales, an impressive roster of athletes and an extraordinary fan experience on-site, we are anticipating another unforgettable tournament.”
🐯² #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/1QOCX1UBXL
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
Korda admits coming to Washington is one of the best places to start the hard-court season. Like many, the American skipped the Olympics because it would have meant going from playing on grass back to clay following Wimbledon and would have delayed his being able to acclimate to the summer hard courts. “Hopefully get a lot of good matches in,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going into the US Open and the rest of the tournaments for the rest of the year.”
Jabeur, who is also playing doubles with fan-favorite Paula Badosa of Spain, adds: “It’s such a great tournament. It’s a 500 right now. Excited with the evolution of this beautiful tournament.
“We’ll make it our small Olympics here for the players that did not make it there.”
Around the Mubadala Citi DC Open
Six men and four women were added to the singles main draws after advancing through two rounds of weekend qualifying. Among the men joining the 48-player draw are: Mattia Bellucci of Italy, Maxime Cressy and Mitchell Krueger of the United States, Radu Albot of Moldova, Elias Ymer of Sweden and Seong Chan Hong of South Korea.
Forza 🔱
Mattia Bellucci digs deep to qualify for his first ATP 500 level tournament after an eventful trip from Atlanta to DC 👏#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/IHRxMkgviX
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
Americans qualifiers Amanda Anisimova, Hailey Baptiste and McCartney Kessler join 10 other U.S. women in the 28-player field. Kamilla Rakhimova of the Soviet Union also qualified.
Let’s goooooo @savvy_bap 👏
The DC native delivers a fabulous performance, defeating Rodionova 7-6, 7-5 to reach the main draw!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/0HF8DhKheF
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
Look at this Monday lineup 😍
Great matches & big stars are across the grounds all day including @EmmaRaducanu, @ReillyOpelkaUSA, @Ons_Jabeur, @BenShelton & @denis_shapo.
Tickets are sold out & less than 200 outer court passes remain. Get yours tonight! #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/94k7xBjUES
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 28, 2024
By the numbers
On Monday, there will be two women’s first-round matches featuring American versus American: Shelby Rogers against wild card Robin Montgomery and Sloane Stephens will oppose Amanda Anisimova.
“Quotable …”
“I feel good physically. I have no problems really. No niggles. I’m just very happy and excited to be in Washington.
“I played this tournament two years ago, and it’s one of my favorites on the calendar. Unfortunately I had to miss last year. But I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be playing this year.”
— Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, during her pre-tournament news conference. She will play No. 8 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium Monday evening.
Air Emma ✈️ @EmmaRaducanu is ready to soar in DC!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/xELYEBOUZB
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 25, 2024
