CINCINNATI, July 16, 2020 (W&S Open Press Release)
Further details regarding the staging of the 2020 Western & Southern Open at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City have been revealed in advance of the joint ATP Tour and WTA event that is scheduled to begin in five weeks.
The one-time staging of the tournament in New York is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the Western & Southern Open, which features an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5, will take place Aug. 20-28, and is scheduled to be completed just before the US Open is held Aug. 31-Sept. 13 at the same venue.
Both Western & Southern Open singles draws will still be comprised of 56 players, with the top eight seeds in both receiving first round byes.
Opening round of Western & Southern Open main draw singles play will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22-23. While a handful of second round matches will be held Sunday, Aug. 23, the majority of the round of 32 will take place on Monday, Aug. 24. The round of 16 will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and will be followed by the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Play through the first five days will begin at 11 a.m. with a night session on Grandstand beginning at 5 p.m. and a second match to begin not before 7 p.m.
The semifinals will be played on Thursday, Aug. 27, with the women’s matches being held consecutively from 11 a.m., followed by the men’s, which will start no earlier than 3 p.m. Both singles finals will be held on Friday, Aug. 28, with the WTA final taking place at 2 p.m., and the ATP Tour’s at 4 p.m.
Doubles will be contested throughout the week, culminating with the finals on Friday, Aug. 28. The ATP Tour’s final will be held at 2 p.m., and the WTA’s at 4 p.m. The two rounds of qualifying will be held over two days, Thursday, Aug. 20 and Friday, Aug. 21.
The ATP Tour singles field will include 39 direct acceptances based on the list provided after the entry deadline of July 27. As a Masters 1000, players will be automatically entered into the field, though they have the opportunity to withdraw prior to that entry deadline, as previously announced by the ATP. Twelve players will advance into the main draw through qualifying. Four wild cards will be awarded, and one special exempt spot will be held should a player advance far enough in the Washington, D.C. tournament that it would preclude him from participating in the Western & Southern Open qualifying tournament.
The WTA singles field will include 39 direct acceptances based on the list provided after the entry deadline of July 27. Twelve players will advance into the main draw through qualifying. Up to five wild cards may be awarded.
Thirty-two teams will compete in each doubles tournament. For the ATP Tour, 21 teams will be on the initial list at the Aug. 10 entry deadline, with eight additional teams added through the on-site sign in. Three teams will be awarded wild cards. The WTA field will include 24 teams from the initial list at the Aug. 10 entry deadline, five teams will join at the on-site sign in, and three wild cards will be awarded.
Forty-eight players will compete in each two-round qualifying event, with 12 players advancing into the main draw. There will be six wild card entrants in the ATP Tour qualifying event, and five wild cards for the WTA. The initial entry list for both qualifying events has a deadline of Aug. 3.
Grandstand Court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be the primary show court for the Western & Southern Open, with Courts 10 and 17 serving as the other show courts. Grandstand and Court 10 will be used for the full duration of the Western & Southern Open, with Court 10 hosting the final rounds of the doubles competition. The other seven competition courts will be Courts 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15.
All of these match courts will have Western & Southern Open branding on the back walls with additional side wall signage on the three show courts. In addition, each court will use the branded net for each respective Tour.
Earlier this year, the Western & Southern Open finalized a new, five-year agreement with Wilson to provide balls for the tournament. Men’s matches will use the Wilson US Open Extra Duty ball while women’s matches will use the Wilson US Open Regular Duty ball.
Tennis Channel and ESPN will share domestic coverage rights for the 2020 Western & Southern Open, with their full broadcast schedule to be released in the coming weeks. The international broadcast of the event will once again reach viewers in more than 160 nations.
Further details for the 2020 tournament will be announced in the coming weeks, and all aspects of the event are subject to change.
