Tiafoe returns home for a sold-out D.C. Open

The North American hardcourt tennis season is ready to ramp up, kicking off with the 55th edition of the D.C. Open.

Qualifying for the combined 500-level event began Saturday, and the ATP and WTA main draws, set to begin play Monday at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, boast a combined five Grand Slam champions, nine top 20 players, and three former world No. 1s.

This year’s tournament, however, draws a bit of an unlucky slot on the tennis calendar.

Defending women’s champion Coco Gauff will not return to defend her title, as she, along with former Washington winner Jessica Pegula and many of the world’s other top players, are competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Olympic tournament, which began Friday and lasts until Aug. 11, takes place at the French Open’s Roland Garros concurrently with the D.C. Open. The schedule forced players to weigh returning to a tricky, early-season surface — clay — or make preparations instead for the final stretch of the season on hard courts, not to mention the added conflict of playing for pride and country or for money and valuable rankings points on tour.

Gauff used her 2023 Washington win as a springboard to a sensational summer, going on to win the Masters event in Cincinnati and the U.S. Open, her first Grand Slam title — titles that helped her earn the honor of being one of the U.S. flag bearers during the opening ceremonies in Paris.

Local favorite Frances Tiafoe is hoping for a similar trajectory, with the Hyattsville, Maryland, native opting to forego the Paris Games for his home tournament in hopes of being better prepared heading into next month’s U.S. Open.

The world No. 29 has struggled through most of 2024, but might have reached a turning point in a five-set, third-round loss at Wimbledon to world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz that saw him play some of his best tennis of the year. Tiafoe makes his eighth D.C. Open appearance after losing in last year’s quarterfinals to eventual champion Dan Evans.

Joining Tiafoe in the ATP field are fellow Americans Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda, and MacKenzie McDonald. Shelton knocked off Tiafoe in last year’s U.S. Open quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Like Tiafoe, Shelton also qualified for the Olympics but withdrew to focus on the hardcourt summer.

“I’m not shocked by any decisions by the players. Everyone’s got their personal journey and individual goals for the season,” U.S. Olympic men’s tennis coach Bob Bryan told Tennis.com.

“If your goal is to peak at the U.S. Open, it might not be the most ideal situation for you. So I support and am behind Ben and Frances, and I understand where they are coming from.”

World No. 10 Gregor Dimitrov had committed to D.C. Open, but the Bulgarian withdrew this week due to injury. He was replaced by Russian Andrey Rublev, who received a wild card into the draw. 

The world No. 9 will be the highest-ranked man in the D.C. field, with the eight above him in the ATP rankings all committed to the Olympics.

Rublev will be playing as the No. 1 seed in back-to-back tournaments, facing a quick turnaround after competing this week in the 250-level Croatia Open on clay.

The collection of women is led by two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who is making her first Washington appearance in seven years. D.C. will be the world No. 3’s first action in more than a month after withdrawing ahead of Wimbledon with a shoulder injury.

Joining Sabalenka, seven of the WTA’s top 20 will compete in the District,  including No. 10 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, No. 12 Daria Kasatkina of Russia, No. 13 Madison Keys of the U.S, and No. 15 and 2022 D.C. champion Liudmila Samsonova of Russia. Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa of Spain and 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Radacanu of Britain have earned wild cards for Washington after round-of-16 appearances at Wimbledon.

The D.C. Open is the only combined 500-level event between the ATP and WTA Tours in the world. Organizers have already announced that tickets for the entire tournament are sold out for the fourth straight year, with only limited grounds passes remaining. The tournament finishes with championship matches in singles and doubles on Aug. 4.