Both the ATP and WTA draws have been revealed and the itinerary for the 55th edition of Mubadala Citi DC Open is starting to take shape.
While qualifying rounds will be completed over the weekend, main draw play begins Monday with several headliners and Grand Slam champions set to usher in a busy week of competition.
SABALENKA, KASATKINA, SAMSONOVA, JABEUR HEADLINE WOMEN’S DRAW:
In the women’s draw, two-time defending Australian Open champion and World No.3 Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed, while World No.12 Daria Kasatkina anchors the bottom half of the draw as the second seed. The top four seeds in the women’s draw all received first-round byes with 2022 DC champion Liudmila Samsonova and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur rounding out the quartet.
Sabalenka returns to Washington for the first time since 2017 and could meet former World No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. Karolina Pliskova- another former World No.1 and two-time Grand Slam finalist – also looms in the top quarter of the draw.
Jabeur will open her 2024 DC account against either DC native Robin Montgomery or Shelby Rogers. Montgomery, 19, received a wild card and is set to compete in the main draw of her hometown tournament for the first time. Jabeur and Montgomery met for the first time at Wimbledon this month with Jabeur prevailing in their second-round match.
Samsonova headlines a loaded quarter with a second-round match looming against either American and 2020 Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin or wild card Paula Badosa. If the seeds hold, Samosnova could face No.8 Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals. Mertens will be tested in her first-round match as she faces wild card and 2021 US Open champ Emma Raducanu.
DC native Clervie Ngounoue is also in Samsonova’s quarter and will make her Washington main draw debut against Peyton Stearns in an all-American first-round showdown.
Kasatkina and No.7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova headline the bottom quarter of the draw. Sloane Stephens, who captured her maiden WTA title in Washington in 2015, also lurks in Kasatkina’s quarter. Stephens is making her record 12th career appearance in the women’s draw.
SHELTON, KORDA AND TIAFOE AMONG AMERICAN HEADLINERS IN MEN’S DRAW
On the ATP side, the top-16 seeds in the 48-player field all received first-round byes. Andrey Rublev returns to Washington for his fourth career appearance and his second as the tournament’s No.1 seed. American Ben Shelton anchors the bottom half of the draw as the No.2 seed.
Rublev is a two-time DC semifinalist and could face College Park native Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals. Tiafoe, who made his pro debut on these grounds 10 years ago, has reached the DC quarters in each of the past two years before falling to the eventual tournament champ. The top quarter of the draw also includes a first-round match between 2022 DC finalist Yoshihito Nishioka and American Aleksander Kovacevic.
Should the seeds hold, No.4 Sebastian Korda and No.7 Jordan Thompson could meet in the quarterfinals, while No.3 Karen Khachanov and No.8 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina are also positioned to meet in the last eight.
Shelton, Korda and Tiafoe are among five American seeds to receive a first-round bye. The others include No.13 Brandon Nakashima and No.15 Alex Michelsen. All will be vying to become the first American men’s singles champion in DC since Andy Roddick won the Washington crown in 2007.
Michelson, 19, turned pro last summer and arrives in DC fresh off a finals appearance last week in Newport. The #NextGenATP star will face either a qualifier or 2021 DC finalist Mackenzie McDonald in his opening match in Rock Creek Park.
Shelton and Nakashima are joined in the bottom quarter of the draw by No.6 Adrian Mannarino, No.12 Miomir Kecmanovic plus wild cards Denis Shapovalov and J.J. Wolf.
