Serena Williams, winner of the first three Grand Slam events of the season, headlines the inital entry list for the women’s tournament.

Serena Williams, winner of the first three Grand Slam events of the season, headlines the inital entry list for the women’s tournament.
Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and Wimbledon runner-up Roger Federer will attempt to defend their titles at the Western & Southern Open next month when the tournament returns to the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, August 15-23.

Williams and Federer lead a field that includes each of the Top 35 ranked men and women in the world (active, non-injured).

The player field announcement comes on the same day the tournament and Western & Southern Financial Group announced an extension of their record-long title sponsorship through the 2017 event.

“We are thrilled to announce the best players in tennis, from both the women’s and men’s tours, are coming to Cincinnati in just a few weeks,” said Tournament Director and COO Vince Cicero. “Our event has become a ‘must-play’ tournament for the players, and a ‘must-attend’ event for tennis fans from all over the globe.”

Dubbed the “Year of the Fan” by tournament officials, the event will debut free public Wi-Fi across the 20-acre venue, a new tournament app called WSOpen Now, Levy Restaurants as new caterer for hospitality areas and concessions, and the addition of Palomino to the roster of the eateries in the popular food court.

Fans will continue to have unparalleled access to be up close and personal with the elite players, thanks to a venue designed to promote practice-watching and everyday encounters with players.

Williams, the No. 1 player in the world, leads an initial entry list of women that features every non-injured player in the Top 35 of the WTA rankings, including past tournament champions Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.

Seven women who have held the No. 1 ranking (Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki) as well as eight winners of Grand Slam events (Azarenka, Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Petra Kvitova, Sharapova, Sam Stosur, S. Williams and V. Williams) are in the women’s field.

Federer, a six-time champion in Cincinnati, will be joined in the men’s field by every player in the Top 40 of the ATP World Tour rankings, including two-time winner Andy Murray, 2013 champion Rafael Nadal and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who has appeared in the Western & Southern Open final four times.

The men’s field will include three players who have been ranked No. 1 during their career (Djokovic, Federer and Nadal) and six players who have won a title at a Grand Slam tournament (Marin Cilic, Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Nadal and Stan Wawrinka).

Twelve women and seven men will be added to the fields through a two-round qualifying tournament that will take place August 15-16. In addition, three women and four men will be granted wild cards to join the 56-player fields.

For full player listing, please visit:
http://www.wsopen.com/Players/Entry_List
.