Eleven Past Champions Headline Western & Southern Open Fields

Eleven Past Champions Headline Western & Southern Open Fields
                     WTA, ATP Tour Stars Return to Cincinnati Aug. 14-22
CINCINNATI, Ohio (July 21, 2021) – Ashleigh Barty and Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 ranked players in the
world who are fresh off Wimbledon titles, highlight the initial singles entry list for the 2021 Western &
Southern Open.

The Top 20 players in both the ATP Tour and WTA Tour rankings have entered the event, which will be held
Aug. 14-22. The field also includes 11 former tournament winners, including the defending champions
Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka, both two-time Western & Southern Open winners.

Cincinnati will welcome five former champions in the WTA field, featuring Karolina Pliskova (2016), Garbiñe
Muguruza (2017), and Madison Keys (2019) along with two-time champions Serena Williams and Azarenka.
In addition to Djokovic, former ATP champions returning to Cincinnati in 2021 include Daniil Medvedev
(2019), Rafael Nadal (2013), Grigor Dimitrov (2017), Marin Cilic (2016) and seven-time champion Roger
Federer.

The women’s field is also highlighted by 13 total Major champions, with recent winners including 2020
Western & Southern Open finalist Naomi Osaka (2020 US Open, 2021 Australian Open), Barbora Krejcikova
(2021 French Open), Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open) and Iga Swiatek (2020 French Open). Eight entrants
have held WTA's No. 1 ranking, with Azarenka, Barty, Osaka, Pliskova, Muguruza and Williams being joined
by multi-time Cincinnati finalists Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber.

In addition to the wealth of experience among the women’s field, 10 participants are 23 or younger. Leading
the WTA youth movement is 17-year-old Cori "Coco" Gauff, who will make her debut in Cincinnati following
a quarterfinal finish in the 2021 French Open.

Djokovic’s Western & Southern Open title defense will come as he chases history this season. The winner of
the year’s first three Majors, he is bidding to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a calendar
Grand Slam. The trio of Major titles this season has drawn him level with Federer and Nadal atop the all-
time list, with each having won 20 titles at Grand Slam tournaments. A trio of former US Open champions
are also on the Cincinnati entry list: Dominic Thiem (2020), Stan Wawrinka (2016) and Cilic (2014).

The men’s field comprises the top 43 players in the ATP rankings and will have 11 players aged 23-or-
younger competing. Leading the ATP youth charge is 19-year-old Jannik Sinner, who held a career-high
ranking of 17 earlier in 2021 and reached the 2020 French Open Quarterfinals.

The initial entrants to both fields are as follows:

Rank   Name                    Age   Nat.   Rank   Name                       Age   Nat.

1      Novak Djokovic          34    SRB    1      Ashleigh Barty             25    AUS

2      Daniil Medvedev         25    RUS    2      Naomi Osaka                23    JPN

3      Rafael Nadal            35    ESP    3      Aryna Sabalenka            23    BLR

4      Stefanos Tsitsipas      22    GRE    4      Sofia Kenin                22    USA

5      Alexander Zverev        24    GER    5      Bianca Andreescu           21    CAN

6      Dominic Thiem           27    AUT    6      Elina Svitolina            26    UKR

7      Audrey Rublev           23    RUS    7      Karolina Pliskova          29    CZE

8      Matteo Berrettini       25    ITA    8      Iga Swiatek                20    POL

9      Roger Federer           39    SUI    9      Garbiñe Muguruza           27    ESP

10     Denis Shapovalov        22    CAN    10     Simona Halep               29    ROU

11     Pablo Carreno Busta     29    ESP    11     Barbora Krejcikova         25    CZE

12     Hubert Hurkacz          24    POL    12     Belinda Bencic             24    SUI

13     Diego Schwartzman       28    ARG    13     Petra Kvitova              31    CZE

14     Casper Ruud             22    NOR    14     Victoria Azarenka          31    BLR

15     Felix Auger-Aliassime   20    CAN    15     Jennifer Brady             26    USA

16     Roberto Bautista Agut   33    ESP    16     Serena Williams            39    USA

17     Alex de Minaur          22    AUS    17     Elise Mertens              25    BEL

18     Gael Monfils            34    FRA    18     Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova   30    RUS

19     Cristian Garin          25    CAN    19     Maria Sakkari              25    GRE

20     David Goffin            30    CHI    20     Elena Rybakina             22    KAZ

21     Grigor Dimitrov         30    BUL    22     Angelique Kerber           33    GER

22     Milos Raonic            30    CAN    23     Ons Jabeur                 26    TUN

23      Jannik Sinner                 19   ITA    24      Karolina Muchova        24   CZE

 24      Aslan Karatsev                27   RUS    25      Cori Gauff              17   USA

 25      Karen Khachanov               25   RUS    26      Madison Keys            26   USA

 26      Lorenzo Sonego                26   ITA    27      Jessica Pegula          27   USA

 27      Daniel Evans                  31   GBR    28      Anett Kontaveit         25   EST

 28      Ugo Humbert                   23   FRA    29      Paula Badosa            23   ESP

 29      Stan Wawrinka                 36   SUI    30      Jelena Ostapenko        24   LAT

 30      Cameron Norrie                25   GBR    31      Daria Kasatkina         24   RUS

 31      Fabio Fognini                 34   ITA    32      Petra Martic            30   CRO

 32      Reilly Opelka                 23   USA    33      Veronika Kudermetova    24   RUS

 33      Borna Coric                   24   CRO    34      Ekaterina Alexandrova   26   RUS

 34      Filip Krajinovic              29   SRB    35      Yulia Putintseva        26   KAZ

 35      Alejandro Davidovich Fokina   22   ESP    36      Alison Riske            31   USA

 36      Marin Cilic                   32   CRO    37      Tamara Zidansek         23   SLO

 37      Taylor Fritz                  23   USA    38      Nadia Podoroska         24   ARG

 38      Marton Fucsovics              29   HUN    39      Sorona Cirstea          31   ROU

 39      John Isner                    36   USA    40      Johanna Konta           30   GBR

 40      Alexander Bublik              24   KAZ    41      Markéta Vondroušová     22   CZE

 41      Adrian Mannarino              33   FRA    42      Shelby Rogers           28   USA

 42      Nikoloz Basilashvili          29   GEO    44      Danielle Collins        27   USA

 43      Albert Ramos-Vinolas          33   ESP

 69*     Kei Nishikori                 31   JPN
BOLD Indicates Past Western & Southern Open Champion
*Current ranking, entry secured with injury protected ranking

The top eight seeds in both draws will receive first round byes. Eight women and seven men will be added to
the fields through a two-round qualifying tournament that will be held Aug. 14-15. Four men and as many as
five women will be awarded wild card entries into the main draw singles fields.

Tournament action will take place Aug. 14-22, where first serve will take place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 14 for the
qualifying tournament. The men’s and women’s singles finals will take place on Sunday, Aug. 22. The
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.

About the Western & Southern Open
Founded in 1899, the Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 tournament. The Western & Southern Open
annually welcomes nearly 200,000 fans who come from all 50 states and more than 35 countries and is seen by more than 50 million
global viewers in over 160 countries. The tournament is also one of the last stops on the US Open Series before the US Open in New
York. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $11 million to various beneficiaries including Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center, the Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth. The tournament is held at the Lindner Family Tennis
Center, 20 miles north of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. For more information, visit www.wsopen.com.

About the US Open Series
The US Open Series serves as a true “regular season” of summer tennis in North America, linking nine WTA and ATP Tour
tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly viewing schedule, as well as comprehensive outreach and grassroots
engagement initiatives, the Series serves as a vital platform to promote and grow the game of tennis in person and at home. Fans
can follow along all summer as today’s top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow’s emerging stars, while each tournament
engages its local community with a variety of programs geared toward showcasing and promoting the game to new and existing
fans.

About the WTA
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity for women in sports, the WTA is the global leader in women’s
professional sport with more than 1,650 players representing 84 nations competing for a record $180 million in prize money. In 2019,
the WTA was watched by a record-breaking global audience of 700 million. The 2020 WTA season includes 55 events and four Grand
Slams in 29 countries and regions. The season culminates with the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, offering a $14 million total prize
purse and honoring the season’s top singles and doubles players. Further information on the WTA can be found at www.wtatennis.com.

About the ATP
As the global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. We entertain a billion global fans,
showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments, and inspire the next generation of fans and players.
From the ATP Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and FedEx ATP Rankings
points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious
season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also
sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit
www.ATPTour.com.