USTA Announced Men’s & Women's Entry List for the US Open

The USTA announced that each of the world’s top 98 men, according to the July 19 edition of the ATP World Tour rankings received direct entry into the US Open. The 2010 US Open will be played August 30 – September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.  Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.7 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.7 million potential payout) based on their performances in the Olympus US Open Series. 

The top 10 entries are; Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray,  Robin Soderling, Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco. 

Other American men who received direct entry into this year’s tournament include: No. 19 John Isner of Tampa, Fla.; No. 20 Sam Querrey of Las Vegas; No. 49 Mardy Fish of Tampa, Fla.; No. 75 Robby Ginepri of Kennesaw, Ga.; No. 89 Michael Russell of Houston; and No. 94 Taylor Dent of Bradenton, Fla.  Additionally, Tommy Haas of Bradenton, Fla., who recently became a U.S. citizen, received direct entry via a protected ranking. 

Bjorn Phau of Germany, ranked No. 98, is the last player accepted directly into the men’s field of 128.  In addition to Haas, five other players used protected rankings to gain direct entry, including: David Nalbandian of Argentina; Dmitry Tursunov of Russia; Mario Ancic of Croatia; Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina; and Kristof Vliegen of Belgium.  Sixteen more players will gain entry through the US Open Qualifying Tournament, August 24-27, while the remaining eight spots are wild cards awarded by the US Open

The USTA announced  that except for the injured Justine Henin, the top 100 women on the July 19 WTA rankings are entered in the women’s singles field for the 2010 US Open Tennis Championships.  

The 2010 US Open will be played August 30 – September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.  Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.7 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.7 million potential payout) based on their performances in the Olympus US Open Series. 
The top 10 entries are; Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams,  Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters, Francesca Schiavone.  Vera Zvonareva and Li Na.

Other American women who received direct entry into this year’s tournament include No. 42 Melanie Oudin,  No. 80 Vania King, No. 95 Bethanie Mattek-Sands and No. 98 Jill Craybas. 

Three players – Anne Keothavong of Great Britain, Urszula Radwanska of Poland and Jelena Kostanic Tosic of Croatia – received direct entry due to special rankings, while Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic, ranked No. 102, was the 104th and last player accepted directly into the women’s field of 128.  Sixteen more players will gain entry through the US Open Qualifying Tournament, August 24-27, while the remaining eight spots are wild cards awarded by the USTA. 

Among the players competing in the US Open Qualifying Tournament will be the winner of the inaugural US Open National Playoffs – Women’s Championship, held during the Olympus US Open Series event in Stanford, Calif. next week.  The USTA created the US Open National Playoffs this year and allowed players 14-and-older, regardless of playing ability or nationality, to vie for a spot in the US Open Qualifying Tournament via one of 16 Sectional Qualifying Tournaments.