U.S. veteran Serena Williams, looking to match Australian great Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, leads a star-studded field of women who will be competing at the 2019 US Open Tennis Championships. The U.S. Tennis Association on Wednesday announced the US Open women’s singles field of 102 players who gained direct entry to the main draw. Defending champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who defeated Williams in the 2018 US Open final, and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty from Australia are both among the 13 Grand Slam champions who will be in action next month in New York. Serena and world No. 2 Osaka will also be joined by a handful of former US Open winners, including 2017 US Open champion and world No. 8 Sloane Stephens, two-time US Open champion Venus Williams, 2016 US Open champion Angelique Kerber and 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova. Rounding out the top-10 entries are No. 3 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 2016 US Open finalist; No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania, a two-time Grand Slam champion; No. 5 Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands; No. 6 Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion; No. 7 Elina Svitolina from Ukraine and No. 10 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. The U.S. Tennis Association had earlier announced the men’s field of 98 players who gained direct entry to the main draw, led by defending US Open champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia, Spanish king of clay Rafael Nadal and Swiss great Roger Federer. The remaining slots of both men’s and women’s main draws will be decided by qualifying tournaments and wildcards. The 2019 US Open main draw will kick off on Aug. 26 through to Sept. 8. (Xinhua) |