The 2023 Western & Southern Open preliminary player fields have been announced and among the top-ranked players fans will see are Wimbledon champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova as well as finalists Novak Djokovic and Ons Jabeur. Djokovic is returning to play in front of Cincinnati fans for the first time in four years and it is scheduled to be his first tournament in the U.S. since 2021.
The initial entry list includes the world’s top 41 men and 39 women, 14 Grand Slam champions, eight current or former world No. 1-ranked players and 11 past tournament champions.
“As one of the premier tournaments in the world, it’s not surprising to see an elite field enter for the chance to win the Western & Southern Open. We look forward to these world class players coming to Cincinnati to write another chapter in this event’s rich history while they aspire to win one of the most important events of their season.”
Todd Martin, Western & Southern Open Tournament Director
The Western & Southern Open is one of only five events globally to host an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, joining Madrid, Miami, Rome and Indian Wells, California. All of this year’s 1000-level tournament winners so far are Grand Slam champions except 2021 Cincinnati finalist Andrey Rublev. The men’s winners include Alcaraz (Indian Wells, Madrid), Daniil Medvedev (Miami, Rome) and Rublev (Monte Carlo), while the women’s champions are Barbora Krejcikova (Dubai), Elena Rybakina (Indian Wells, Rome), Petra Kvitova (Miami) and Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid).
World No. 1 Alcaraz, 20, will be aiming for his first title in Cincinnati. In addition to winning his first Wimbledon title last weekend, he is the reigning US Open champion. He is the youngest on the men’s entry list among fellow 20-year-olds Holger Rune and Ben Shelton.
Two-time Western & Southern Open champion Djokovic is a Cincinnati stalwart, having been a finalist five additional times and owning a 40-12 record at the tournament. At age 36, he would be the oldest man to ever win this tournament dating back to 1899, but he is joined by two other slightly older 36-year-olds in the draw – two-time winner Andy Murray and quarterfinalist Gael Monfils. Djokovic is the all-time men’s leader with 23 Grand Slam singles titles including this year’s Australian and French Opens.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No. 2 Sabalenka and No. 3 Rybakina are all vying for their first Western & Southern Open crown. Swiatek is the current title holder at both the US Open and French Open while Australian Open winner Sabalenka has claimed one 1000-level event this year, and former Wimbledon winner Rybakina has won two 1000-level events and reached the Australian Open final this season. Of the three, Sabalenka has the best record in Cincinnati where she has reached two semifinals.
Nipping at the heels of the top three women are No. 4 American Jessica Pegula, No. 5 and reigning Western & Southern Open champion Caroline Garcia, and No. 6 Jabeur. American Coco Gauff, last year’s W&S Open finalist Kvitova, Maria Sakkari and new Wimbledon champion Vondrousova round out the world’s top 10 women, all of whom will compete in Cincinnati. Gauff, 19, is the only teenager on either entry list and would be the youngest woman to win the title in the Open Era (1969).
American Christopher Eubanks vaulted up to No. 31 in the world after his surprising run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, earning a direct entry into the Western & Southern Open for the first time. He will be joined by Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, both ranked in the world’s Top 10.
Another Wimbledon star headed to Cincinnati is Elina Svitolina, who just returned to the tour from maternity leave in April after giving birth in October to daughter, Skaï, with husband and ATP entrant Monfils. She defeated four Grand Slam champions en route to the Wimbledon semifinals and is one of four mothers on the initial entry list for the Western & Southern Open.
Former tournament champions in the draw include Djokovic, Medvedev, Murray, Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov for the men, and Garcia, Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova on the women’s side.
Current or former No 1-ranked players are men Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Murray, and women Swiatek, Azarenka, Pliskova and previously announced wild card entrant Caroline Wozniacki, who is returning from a three-year retirement.
Preliminary entry lists:
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. 12-13. Four men and four additional women will be awarded wild card entries into the main draw singles fields. One additional player may be added into each draw as a special exempt.
Tournament action will take place Aug. 12-20, where first serve will take place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 12 for the qualifying tournament. The men’s and women’s singles finals will take place on Sunday, Aug. 20. The schedule is available here.
The 2022 singles championships were won by Caroline Garcia and Borna Coric while the doubles titles were claimed by Lyudmyla Kichenok & Jelena Ostapenko and Rajeev Ram & Joe Salisbury. Kichenok won her first Grand Slam title last weekend at Wimbledon, capturing the mixed doubles championship.
Tickets for single sessions to the 2023 tournament are on sale now here and Ticketmaster.com. Ticket packages for this year’s tournament sold out by mid-June.
