Cibulkova to Join Connecticut Open Field

July 17, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Ron Angle/LACOSTE

Dominika Cibulkova will join defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and a number of WTA stars in the player field at the 2017 Connecticut Open, presented by United Technologies, set for Aug. 18-26 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.

World number 11 and 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Champion Cibulkova is set to make her eighth appearance in New Haven, and will be joined by world number 13 Kiki Mladenovic, who is enjoying a breakthrough year after winning her first WTA title in St Petersburg (Russia). Of the 20 players confirmed for the 2017 Connecticut Open field, 10 have won at least one WTA singles titles this year.

Also in the field for New Haven are a trio of Russians, Daria Kasatkina, who battled to her first WTA title at 2017 Charleston at 19-years-old; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who won titles in Monterrey and Rabat (Morocco); and Olympic Gold Medalist and 2016 quarterfinalist Elena Vesnina, who enjoyed the biggest title of her career at 2017 Indian Wells. Vesnina with her partner, Ekaterina Makarova, teamed up to win the ladies doubles title at Wimbledon–their third Grand Slam title together–and the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore champions now lie second in the Porsche Race to Singapore doubles standings.

“We are delighted that our field contains so many players in outstanding form,” said Worcester. “Half of our players have already won a title this year, which shows the rich depth in women’s tennis right now. Add that emerging talent to established Grand Slam champions like Petra Kvitova and Sam Stosur, plus Domi Cibulkova and our defending champion Aga Radwanska and we have an extremely exciting and competitive field. We will also aim to add two more big names in the next month with our additional Top 20 wild cards.”

Worcester also announced a wild card for 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Genie Bouchard, who counts New Haven as one of her favorite stops on the tour and will return for the fourth consecutive year.

“I’m really excited to be heading back to New Haven this summer,” said Bouchard. “The tournament conditions are just perfect as a warm-up to the U.S. Open, and I have really enjoyed getting to know the city and Yale University in the past three years.”

This year marks a celebration of 20 years of women's tennis in New Haven and legend Martina Navratilova will take part in the opening ceremony on Monday evening, Aug. 21 followed by a mixed-doubles exhibition with fellow Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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