WASHINGTON — Elina Svitolina is set to headline a strong field at next month’s Mubadala DC Open, with seven Top 20 players entered for the WTA 500 tournament as the North American hard-court swing gathers momentum.
The world No. 8 is projected to be the tournament’s top seed and will be joined by fellow Top 20 players Marta Kostyuk, Naomi Osaka, Diana Shnaider, Iva Jovic, Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya.
The entry list also includes Top 30 players Madison Keys, defending champion Leylah Fernandez, Clara Tauson, Emma Navarro, Anastasia Potapova and Ann Li, giving the Washington event one of its deepest fields in recent years.
Completing the list of direct entrants are Alexandra Eala, Cristina Bucsa, Katerina Siniakova, Jacqueline Cristian, Xinyu Wang, Liudmila Samsonova and Janice Tjen.
Magdalena Frech, Sara Bejlek, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Magda Linette and Katie Boulter currently occupy the first five alternate positions.
The 28-player singles draw will also feature four qualifiers and four wild cards, with those invitations yet to be finalized.
Tournament organizers have already confirmed, however, that seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams will compete in Washington once again.
Williams enjoyed a memorable return to the WTA Tour at last year’s tournament after a 16-month absence, defeating Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in her opening match.
At 45 years old, she became the oldest woman to win a WTA Tour singles match since Martina Navratilova defeated Catalina Castano at Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 47.
Fernandez returns to Washington as the defending champion after producing the biggest title run of her career last season.
The Canadian defeated Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina in consecutive three-set matches before comfortably overcoming Kalinskaya in the championship match to capture her fourth WTA singles title.
“I have gone through so many different challenges this week,” Fernandez said after lifting last year’s trophy.
“I think it just has made me stronger in a way that, if I can get through this week, through the cramps, through the long matches, through the heat, the humidity, I can get through anything.”
The Mubadala DC Open will be held from July 27 through Aug. 2 as part of the WTA Tour’s North American hard-court season leading into the year’s final Grand Slam.
The tournament draw is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 25.
