Tennis, anyone?
The WTA Tour announced Friday that after a two-year hiatus, the 2022 Citi Open will once again hold both men’s and women’s draws at the event, to be held July 30 to August 7 at Rock Creek Park in northwest D.C.
The WTA event will be a 250-level event, the third level below a Grand Slam event that carries a $250,000 purse and 280 rankings points for the winner.
“Presenting a combined tournament with men’s and women’s players has always been the goal for the Citi Open,” Citi Open Chairman Mark Ein said in a release. “For the past two years, we have worked tirelessly to bring the Hologic WTA Tour back to our event and we are thrilled to announce both its return to D.C. this summer, as well as another big pro tournament coming back to the United States.”
The ATP and WTA co-held the Citi Open from 2011 through 2019, but both 2020 events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and only the ATP event returned in 2021, as the WTA re-arranged its schedule around the Olympic Games and skipped the event.
“I am delighted the Citi Open is returning to the WTA tennis calendar this summer,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement.
“The tournament and the Washington community have a rich history on the Hologic WTA Tour, with many of the game’s biggest names gracing the courts in previous editions in the nation’s capital. I am grateful to the tournament organizers for their support and for providing the world’s best women's tennis players the opportunity to showcase their talent.”
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The Citi Open is one of just five U.S.-based events featuring both the WTA and ATP tours, and the 2022 women’s event will feature “32 singles competitors, 16 doubles teams and 16 qualifiers,” per the WTA, as opposed to the men’s event that is a 500-level ATP event with 48 singles players.
Jessica Pegula, ranked No. 11 in the world entering the French Open, won the singles tournament at the last WTA-sanctioned Citi Open in 2019, with Americans Coco Gauff and Caty McNally claiming the women’s doubles crown in that event.
Italian Jannik Sinner and the duo of Raven Klaasen and Ben McDonald are the defending champs in singles and doubles, respectively, in the ATP event.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN