Connecticut Open to feature 2016 Olympians

You don’t have to fly to Rio for a courtside seat to watch the world’s top women tennis players compete; you can see many of those same athletes face off here in New Haven during the 2016 Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies Corp., Aug. 19-27.
test test
Sloane Stephens, who has captured three titles this year, is one of the Olympians who will play in the 2016 Connecticut Open.

Party, discounts for Yale community

Yale University is hosting an opening night ceremony for the Connecticut Open on Monday, Aug. 22 as well as a pre-ceremony courtside party for Yale community members. Special discounts are also available for students, staff, and faculty throughout the tournament. Learn more.

You don’t have to fly to Rio for a courtside seat to watch the world’s top women tennis players compete; you can see many of those same athletes face off here in New Haven during the 2016 Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies Corp., Aug. 19-27.

In fact, all of the 21 players in the main draw – 20 direct acceptance and one wild card – are also representing their country at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Furthermore, 20 of those players are among the top 31 highest-ranked players in the world.

“From a rankings perspective, all of these players would be seeded at a Grand Slam, which shows how deep and talented the player field is for the 2016 Connecticut Open,” said Anne Worcester, tournament director. “From Grand Slam Champions to talented Americans to more than 20 Olympians – the field will be dynamic, international in flavor and extremely competitive. We will aim to add more top players to the field in the next month with our three additional wild cards.”

The first of four wild cards was given to four-time Connecticut Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who will be the flag bearer for Denmark for the opening ceremony.

The draw will feature Grand Slam Champions Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009 Roland Garros, 2004 U.S. Open) and Petra Kvitova (2012, 2014 Wimbledon), former World No. 1 players Jelena Jankovic and Wozniacki, and numerous players who have won titles this year – World No. 8 Roberta Vinci, World No. 11 Madison Keys, World No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova, World No. 16 Karolina Pliskova, World No. 17 Timea Bacsinszky, World No. 20 Elina Svitolina, World No. 21 Sara Errani, World No. 23 Sloane Stephens (three titles), and World No. 26 Kiki Bertens.

In addition there is a trio of up-and-coming players competing in New Haven: World No. 15 Belinda Bencic, the Swiss star who won two tournaments last year and reached the final of St. Petersburg in 2016; World No. 18 Johanna Konta, the British player who advanced to this year’s Australian Open semifinals; and World No. 29 Daria Kasatkina, the Russian who was a quarterfinalist at Indian Wells and Charleston in 2016.

Rounding out the field are 2016 Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Barbora Strycova, Ekaterina Makarova, and Irina-Camelia Begu.

In addition to the three wild card recipients, six players will advance through the 48-player qualifying draw to complete the field. The top two seeds at the tournament will receive a bye.

In addition, James Blake, Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Mardy Fish will compete in the PowerShares Series Event at the Connecticut Open. On Thursday evening, Aug. 25, following the WTA quarterfinal, McEnroe will play Blake, and on Friday evening, Aug. 26, following the WTA semifinal, Roddick will battle Fish, with the winners of each matchup competing in a final on Friday night. The men’s matches will all be one set each. Both matches will be the second match of the evening session.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased by visiting www.ctopen.org or by calling 877-896-2908. The tournament is also recruiting more volunteers for the event, and those interested should visit http://www.ctopen.org/volunteer/ or call 203-776-7331 ext. 5842 for more information.

Share this with Facebook Share this with X Share this with LinkedIn Share this with Email Print this

Media Contact

Office of Public Affairs & Communications: opac@yale.edu, 203-432-1345