Preview DC Open WTA and ATP 2024: Sabalenka and Raducanu return, Rublev and Shelton lead the field

The 2024 DC Open (Mubadala Citi DC Open for sponsorship reasons) is set to start with competitive men's and women's draws on Monday, July 29, and will run until July 6. Despite the focus on the Olympic Games, stars will not be absent, including Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu, Ben Shelton, Andrey Rublev, Ons Jabeur, and Frances Tiafoe.

This is the 55th edition of the Washington Open for men, whose most successful player is Andre Agassi with five titles between 1990 and 1999. On the other hand, it is the 12th edition for women, with Magdalena Rybarikova and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2 each) as the top champions.

The first round will have the 16 seeded players debuting in the second round, while the rest of the players will have to win a match before facing one of the top-ranked players in the draw. The top seed is Andrey Rublev, who is trying to move past the inconsistency of recent months, which has cost him his place in the top 5 and threatened his position in the top 10.

This week at the clay Umag Open, he seemed to regain his form but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Francisco Cerundolo. Rublev awaits the winner of the French duel between Luca Van Assche and Arthur Cazaux.

Local favorite Ben Shelton (No. 14) is the highest-ranked American in the draw. The American arrives after a disappointing debut loss at the Atlanta Open, despite being the first seed, to young Chinese player Shang Juncheng. Shelton leads the bottom half of the draw and awaits the winner between Facundo Diaz Acosta and Radu Albot.

The USA will also have four other seeded players. Sebastian Korda (4th) and Frances Tiafoe (5th) are the top-ranked favorites and can take advantage of the home crowd to improve their season, especially with several tournaments as hosts, including the US Open in a month.

Alex Michelsen (15th), Brandon Nakashima (13th), and wildcard Reilly Opelka are other locals looking to make a good impression. Opelka is returning from an injury and reached the semifinals at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships just two weeks ago. With 4 wins and two losses in the last two tournaments, Opelka is gradually gaining momentum to return to the top rankings.

The Americans will seek to break the 15-year streak without a local champion. The last one was Andy Roddick in 2007, and since then, local players have fallen in four finals, the most recent in 2021 when Mackenzie McDonald lost in a three-set battle to Jannik Sinner.

However, it's not just the Americans who are strong names in the draw. Karen Khachanov (3rd), Adrian Mannarino (6th), Jordan Thompson (7th), and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (9th) are among the players to watch in the tournament. The Frenchman is rising in the rankings and was one of the surprises at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round despite entering the draw as a lucky loser. He also won his first title two months ago at the Lyon Open.

The tournament will not feature defending champion Dan Evans or runner-up Tallon Griekspoor, who are in Paris 2024. Additionally, last year's semifinalists (Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov) are also not present in the draw. This will be a great opportunity for some players to earn a good amount of points, especially important with two Masters 1000 and the US Open coming up in the next few weeks.

Like the men, the women's tournament will be missing the 2023 champion Coco Gauff and runner-up Maria Sakkari. Semifinalists Pegula and Samsonova are also absent. The women's tournament dropped from WTA 500 to 250, but this did not prevent a competitive draw with 5 top-20 players and notable names looking to regain their best form. Although, the draw suffered some sensitive casualties in recent days, including Anna Kalinskaya and Madison Keys.

The big favorite is Aryna Sabalenka (No. 3), although she needs to prove on the court that she has moved past the shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon. The hardcourt swing is crucial for Sabalenka's season, as she defends up to 1000 points until the US Open. Sabalenka awaits the winner between Katie Volynets and qualifier Kamila Rakhimova in the second round.

Russian players Daria Kasatkina and Liudmila Samsonova are next on the entry list. Kasatkina has been one of the most consistent players this season, ranking 7th in terms of wins and having played in four finals this year, although she only won the title at the Eastbourne International just before Wimbledon. Samsonova, on the other hand, won her first title of the season a month ago at the Libema Open during the grass swing.

Tunisian Ons Jabeur is the 4th seed after a disappointing third-round loss at Wimbledon, despite being a finalist in the previous two editions. The large number of points she lost dropped her out of the top 10 after nearly 30 months, and Washington will be a good opportunity to regain some positions from her current world No. 16 ranking.

The rest of the seeded players include Victoria Azarenka, Elise Mertens, Anastasia Potapova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, although all of them will debut in the first round, unlike the top 4 seeds who received a bye and will have a few more days before their debut.

The draw will feature some exciting presences. The 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu received a wildcard from the organization after an impressive grass swing that finally returned her to the top 100 after more than a year. The Brit will debut against Mertens this Monday on the main court, with no previous head-to-head record.

One of the most exciting first-round matches will feature former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin against former world No. 2 Paula Badosa. Both players have struggled with injuries in the past and are far from the positions they held a few years ago when they were among the top players on the Tour. Both can be dark horses in a tournament that seems ready for surprises.