The Olympic tennis tournament begins Saturday in London, but regional fans will have a chance to experience a similar level of quality next month in Winston-Salem.
Thirty Olympians, including France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Americans Andy Roddick and John Isner, highlight the field of 48 scheduled to play singles in the Winston-Salem Open.
Tsonga, ranked No. 6 in the world, is the highest among the current field.
Isner, a Greensboro native and highest-ranked American at No. 11, is the defending champion. Roddick, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world, currently is No. 22. They will team to play doubles, as well.
Sam Querrey, who climbed as high as No. 17 before elbow surgery, also has committed to play, along with current No. 17 Alexandr Dolgopolov, No. 19 Marcel Granollers, No. 30 Feliciano Lopez and No. 32 Julien Benneteau, who lost to Isner in last year’s final.
Tournament director Bill Oakes has three wildcards remaining and is pursuing other Olympians. With almost half of the 48-player singles draw ranked in the top 50, the WSO will field one of the strongest draws leading to the U.S. Open.
“I think this underscores what we have said all along about this year’s Winston-Salem Open being a very international field and being a very deep and talented field,” Oakes said in a news release.
The WSO starts Aug. 20 at Wake Forest University. It is the final tuneup for the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 27 in New York.


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