Draws, dates, cash prizes and everything you need to know

The US Open Series kicks off next week when the Hologic WTA Tour returns to the hard courts of North America. This year’s Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic boasts its best field in over a decade as the WTA 500 tournament welcomes back five of the tour’s top 10, as well as Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The US Open Series spans the summer tennis season in North America, uniting nine WTA and ATP Tour events as the tours progress to the final Slam of the season in New York.

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Here is what you need to know about San Jose:

When does the tournament start?

The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic is a WTA 500 hard court tournament held at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex in California. The tournament has a rich history as a groundbreaking event. Co-founded by Billie Jean King, the tournament was the first event of the historic 1971 women’s professional tennis tour, a precursor to the WTA.

San Jose features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The Wilson US Open Regular Duty ball will be used and electronic line calls will be used on the stadium court.

The main draw begins on Monday, August 1 at 10:00 a.m. The night sessions will begin at 7:00 p.m.

When are the finals?

Both finals will take place on Sunday, August 7. The singles final will start at 2:00 pm, and the doubles final will follow at 4:00 pm

Who are the projected top seeds?

1. Maria Sakkari (WR No.3)
2. Paula Badosa (WR No.4)
3. Ons Jabeur (WR No.5)
4. Aryna Sabalenka (WR No.6)
5. Garbine Muguruza (WR No.8)
6. Coco Gauff (WR No.11)
7. Daria Kasatkina (WR No.12)
8. Karolina Pliskova (WR No.15)

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Who are the defending champions?

Danielle Collins took home the title last year, sealing a back-to-back title run from Palermo to San Jose. The American defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-7 (10), 6-1 to win her second career title. Unfortunately, Collins was forced to withdraw from this year’s event due to a neck injury.

In doubles, Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac defeated top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 7-5.

How is the draw?

The draw ceremony will take place on Friday 29 July.

What is the prize money and ranking points on offer?

First round: 1 point/$8,110
Second round: 55 points/$11,260
Quarterfinalist: 100 points/$22,080
Semifinalist: 185 points/$42,010
Finalist: 305 points/$71,960
Champion: 470 points/$116,340

key arguments

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is back in action: San Jose will be Rybakina’s first tournament since her incredible run to her first major title at The Championships. Rybakina made her tournament debut last year and advanced to the quarterfinals. He lost in two tiebreaks to eventual champion Collins.

Ons Jabeur ready to recover on hard courts: The Wimbledon finalist has had a few weeks to process coming within a set of the title. Now she’s back in business. The World No.5 has reached the final or improved in five of her last seven tournaments, but that streak has come exclusively on natural surfaces. Will she be able to translate her success to the hard courts?

Naomi Osaka returns to where it all began: Osaka made her WTA main draw debut at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic when the tournament was held at Stanford University in 2014. The 16-year-old was then ranked outside the Top 400 but worked her way up. through qualifying to make his main draw debut. . There, she stunned Samantha Stosur in the first round for her first win on the Hologic WTA Tour.

This will be Osaka’s first appearance at the tournament since moving to San Jose and her first tournament since Roland Garros.

Coco Gauff makes her tournament debut: The Roland Garros finalist is knocking on the door of a Top 10 debut, currently sitting behind Emma Raducanu at No.11. The 18-year-old is ranked No. 3 in the Porsche Race to the WTA Finals behind Iga Swiatek and Jabeur. She has reached the semi-finals or better in two of her last three tournaments.

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The WTA 250 event in Washington DC also starts on Monday. There is no shortage of stories at this year’s Citi Open, where defending champion Jessica Pegula, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and two former No. 1s in Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka headline the field.

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This year’s field also features Venus Wiliams, who will play her first singles event since last year’s WTA 250 in Chicago, as well as the return of 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

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