World’s Top Players are Top Seeds at the Western & Southern Open

The top-ranked players in tennis – World No. 1s Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek – will be the No. 1 seeds when the Western & Southern Open begins this weekend at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Based on today’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings and Hologic WTA Tour Rankings, the seeded players in each tour’s draw will be the 16 highest-ranked players in the world, with the top eight players from each tour receiving byes into the second round.

Joining Swiatek in the Top 8 WTA seeds are two Americans in No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 7 Coco Gauff as well as defending Western & Southern Open champion No. 6 Caroline Garcia.

While reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion Alcaraz holds the ATP’s No. 1 seed, second seed Novak Djokovic returns to the Western & Southern Open where he is a two-time champion and has reached the final on five other occasions. The 2019 winner, Daniil Medvedev, is the No. 3 seed.

Seeded players who will not have the luxury of a bye and will therefore be in first round matches early in the week include three former Western & Southern Open champions in No. 15 Madison Keys, defending champion and No. 15 Borna Coric and No. 16 Alexander Zverev. These seeds also include last year’s Western & Southern Open runner-up Petra Kvitova (No. 9), Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (No. 10) and a trio of American men – Taylor Fritz (No. 9), Frances Tiafoe (No. 10) and Tommy Paul (No. 14).

Unseeded players in the tournament are headlined by a pair of two-time Western & Southern Open champions, Victoria Azarenka and Andy Murray.

First round play at the Western & Southern Open will begin for the men of the ATP Tour on Sunday, Aug. 13. Both tours will have first round matches on Monday, Aug. 14 and Tuesday, Aug. 15. A handful of second round matches, which may include players who received byes, will be held Tuesday, Aug. 15, with the remainder scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 16.

Seeds are subject to change to reflect any changes to player entries. The singles draws for the Western & Southern Open will be made Friday, Aug. 11.

Match action starts with qualifying play on Saturday, Aug. 12. The Western & Southern Open singles champions will be crowned during the finals on Sunday, Aug. 20.