A former Western & Southern Open men’s finalist, a women’s Grand Slam major winner and 11 titlists on the ATP and WTA tours this year highlight the qualifying field entrants for the 2022 Western & Southern Open.
The two-round qualifying tournament for a chance to join the main draw highlights a busy opening weekend August 13-14, in which fans can enjoy Kids Day presented by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the first-ever College Tennis Showcase.
David Goffin, 2019 Western & Southern Open finalist, will try to reach his 10th main draw in Cincinnati by battling through the qualifying rounds. Also of note in qualifying is the rising 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti, who upset world No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz last week to win his first ATP Tour title. Musetti cut his ranking in half to rise to a career-high No. 31.
In the women’s qualifying field, American Bernarda Pera is on a 12-match winning streak having won her first two WTA Tour titles in the past two weeks in Budapest and Hamburg, where she upset world No. 2 Anett Konteveit. Another in-form player joining the qualifying field is Irina-Camelia Begu, who won her first title in five years last week. Sloane Stephens, 2017 U.S. Open champion and 10-time Western & Southern Open participant, is also on the entry list.
Joining the qualifying fields are local wild card recipients J.J. Wolf, Peyton Stearnsand Caty McNally.
Seven women and eight men will advance out of the two-round qualifying tournament into the 56-player main draw fields for the Western & Southern Open.
Kids Day is making its return to the Western & Southern Open, back for the first time since 2019, and is open to all kids and their families. On-court activities begin at 9 a.m. on Aug. 13 on Grandstand Court, with seven on-court tennis activity stations hosted by USTA Midwest. Other activities will include autograph sessions with players, balloon animal artists, face painting and special guest appearances. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will also host interactive clinics and activities for kids in the new Grand Courtyard in addition to Paint by Number, in partnership with ArtWorks, Medical Mutual Mini Courts, Rookwood Cup photo op and ping pong tables.
At 3 p.m. on August 14, student-athletes from Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame and Xavier will compete for bragging rights in the new College Tennis Showcase. The format will feature men’s and women’s doubles along with mixed doubles, something not typically seen in collegiate competition.
Here are the entries for the men’s and women’s qualifying tournament:
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