In two weeks time the new tennis season will kick off with three tournaments held in different continents. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Tour calendars have been revamped to take into account the 14-day Australian quarantine players will have to go through ahead of the first Grand Slam of 2021.
Whilst the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will not start their campaigns until Australia, other top names will be returning to the court a lot sooner. Earlier this week details of the entry lists for the first trio of tournaments was published and here is everything to know about who is playing where.
Turkey – ATP 250
The Antalya Open will be a brand new tournament kicking off the season after being granted a one-year licence. The city is already a regular feature on the men’s calendar after hosing a grass-court event over the past three years, but this tournament will take place on a hard court.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini is set to be the top seed at the 250 event and the only top 10 player. He will be seeking his fourth Tour title and first since 2019 in the Turkish city. Also confirmed to be taking part is Belgium’s David Goffin and Fabio Fognini. The top eight seeds will also feature rising star Jannik Sinner (8), Alex de Minaur (4) and Borna Coric (5).
The tournament is one of only two ATP tournaments that will take place before players will enter their mandatory quarantine period ahead of the Australian Open. Unlike the usual schedule, it will end on a Wednesday instead of the weekend.
Details of the prize money breakdown have not been published.
Entry list
Delray Beach – ATP 250
The Delray Beach Open will be taking place a month earlier than their usual time slot with the only top 20 player on the entry list being Canada’s Milos Raonic. Nevertheless, former champions Kei Nishikori, Sam Querrey, Reiley Opelka and Frances Tiafoe have been included in the entry list. At present world No.41 Nishikori will be seeded eighth.
“We look forward to welcoming this terrific field to open the 2021 season in Delray Beach,” said Tournament Director Mark Baron. “While there are plenty of very familiar faces, including these former champions, returning to Delray Beach, we’re also excited to see some new names from the next generation of ATP stars for the first time.”
21 players are on the initial entry list for Delray Beach with eight of those having previously never played at the tournament before. There wil be more players over the age of 30 taking part (nine) than those under 25 (eight).
Entry list
- (14) Milos Raonic 29, Canada
- (22) Cristian Garin 24, Chile
- (25) John Isner 35, USA
- (32) Daniel Evans 30, Great Britain
- (34) Hubert Hurkacz 23, Poland
- (35) Adrian Mannarino 32, France
- (39) Reilly Opelka 23, USA
- (41) Kei Nishikori 30, Japan
- (53) Sam Querrey 33, USA
- (54) Tommy Paul 23, USA
- (59) Frances Tiafoe 22, USA
- (60) Pablo Andujar 34, Spain
- (61) Vasek Pospisil 30, Canada
- (66) Dominik Koepfer 26, German
- (71) Cameron Norrie 25, Great Britain
- (82) Federico Delbonis 30, Argentina
- (84) Thiago Monteiro 26, Brazil
- (94) Mikael Ymer 22, Sweden
- (95) Soonwoo Kwon 23, Korea
- (100) Gianluca Mager 26, Italy
- (101) Andrej Martin 31, Slovakia
NOTE: there will be seven additional players in the main draw with three entering via a wildcard and four through qualifying.
Abu Dhabi – WTA 500
In terms of star quality taking place during the first week, the lone women’s tournament leads by a large margin. The Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis Open currently has eight top 20 players on their entry list. Categorised as a 500 event, it will be held at the International Tennis Complex of Zayed Sports City.
Among the 51 direct acceptances are Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka.
“We are delighted to welcome to Abu Dhabi WTA’s 2021 kick-off event, the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open. Abu Dhabi is a global capital of world sport and the presence of top tennis players from around the world at this time only strengthens that position and reinforces our esteemed reputation.” H.E Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, told wtatennis.com.
Unlike the men, this will be the only event taking place prior to the Australian quarantine. A total of 64 players will be participating with the total prize money pool being $565,530.
Entry list
