CINCINNATI (Aug. 10, 2021) - Americans Jenson Brooksby, Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe have been awarded men’s wild cards for the 2021 Western & Southern Open. In addition, Bernada Pera, Samantha Stosur and Jil Teichmann have received wild cards into the women’s field.
Three players have withdrawn from the women’s field – Sofia Kenin (foot), Serena Williams (leg) and Venus Williams.
With a scorching 2021 season, Brooksby has climbed into the Top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. Brooksby reached his first ATP final just last month in Newport, becoming the second-youngest player to reach the final in the 45-year tournament history. Brooksby collected his first win over a top 20 opponent (Felix Auger-Aliassime) in Washington D.C. last week to advance to his first semifinal in an ATP 500 event.
The 20-year-old, who will be making his Cincinnati debut, has also snagged his first three career ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2021, including back-to-back wins in consecutive weeks in April.
Finishing as a finalist in two of his last three events in Los Cabos and Atlanta, Nakashima jumped to a career-high ranking of 87. Nakashima, who will be making his second consecutive appearance in Cincinnati, became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since Taylor Fritz reached the Memphis Open final in 2016.
The 20-year-old has won 65 percent of his matches on the ATP Tour and Majors in his career, winning two titles on the ATP Challenger Tour along with two ITF titles in the process.
Tiafoe returns to Cincinnati for his fourth consecutive appearance and second as a wild card. In 2017, Tiafoe upset then-No. 7 Alexander Zverev in the second round of his Western & Southern Open main draw debut. Tiafoe, a member of Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics last month, posted his best career result at a Major at the 2019 Australian Open by reaching the quarterfinals.
Winning his first singles title at the 2018 Delray Beach Open, he became the youngest American title-holder on the ATP Tour since Andy Roddick in 2002. The 23-year-old is also a six-time titleholder on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Pera has advanced to the round of 32 in two WTA 1000 events this season, accomplishing that feat in Rome and Madrid. In addition to being consistently in the top 100 rankings, Pera has nine ITF singles titles under her belt.
The 26-year-old makes her fourth consecutive Western & Southern Open appearance, having her best finish last year with a second round appearance.
A nine-time titleholder on the WTA Tour, Stosur’s reign to success includes capturing the 2011 US Open championship and finishing as a finalist in the 2010 French Open. Stosur also earned two semifinal appearances in the WTA Finals and was a finalist in the 2013 WTA Elite Trophy.
Returning to Cincinnati for the first time since 2016, Stosur has been seeded three times in the Western & Southern Open. Stosur’s best finish in Cincinnati came in her first appearance in 2012, reaching the quarterfinals as a No. 3 seed.
Having two singles titles on the WTA Tour, Teichmann quickly rose into the spotlight in women’s tennis. Collecting six singles on the ITF Circuit, Teichmann also won the 2014 US Open girls’ doubles title along with a gold medal in mixed doubles at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing in the same year.
Teichmann advanced out of the qualifying round in her first appearance in the Western & Southern Open in 2020, eventually moving to the second round.
Brooksby, Nakashima and Tiafoe join a men’s field that includes 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal, one of five former men’s champions entered in the Western & Southern Open. Other previous champions in the field include two-time winner Andy Murray (2011, 2008) along with Daniil Medvedev (2019), Grigor Dimitrov (2017) and Marin Cilic (2016).
Pera, Stosur and Teichmann join a women’s field that features No. 1 ranked women’s player and 2021 Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty, along with recent Major champions such as 2020 Western & Southern Open finalist Naomi Osaka (2020 US Open, 2021 Australian Open), Barbora Krejcikova (2021 French Open) and Iga Swiatek (2020 French Open). The entries also include defending and two-time champion Victoria Azarenka along with past Cincinnati champions Madison Keys (2019), Garbine Mugurza (2017) and Karolina Pliskova (2016).
The entry lists for 2021 Western & Southern Open can be found here.
The Western & Southern Open will be held Aug. 14-22. The main draw will be released on the evening of Friday, Aug. 13. Qualifying action takes place this weekend, Aug. 14-15. Men’s main draw action gets underway Sunday, Aug. 15, with a full day of men’s and women’s main draw play scheduled for Monday, Aug. 16. The full schedule is available here.
All tickets, including full series, mini-plans, single session and hospitality packages, are now on sale and information about available tickets can be found here.
The Western & Southern Open, an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000, is part of the US Open Series and is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.