NEW HAVEN, CT – Many tennis scribes say that the qualies at the US Open presents as strong a field as most sub-1000 level tournaments. That is an accurate statement. Which bring us to the qualies at the Connecticut Open presented by UTC, starting today in New Haven at the Yale Tennis center.
The Connecticut Open qualies boasts a player ranked as high as No. 16 in the world, Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia and four other players ranked in the 30s: Magdalena Rybarikova, Kristyna, Irina-Camelia Begu and Katerina Siniakova. Sevastova retired in 2013 due to injuries, but returned to competition in 2015 and at last year’s US Open, defeated third seeded Gabine Muguruza, en route to a quarterfinal appearance. She won the Portugal Open in 2010. Top Americans, Shelby Rogers and Christina McHale are also in the field. Rogers has reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and McHale, once No. 24 in the world in singles, has made it to the third round of all four Majors. Her banner year was 2012, when she made it to the third round of the Australian, French and Wimbledon.
The qualifying matches – all two out of three sets – will be contested both today and tomorrow, beginning at 10 am.
Also over this weekend, the Connecticut Open will host the Australian wild card play-off for a US Open main draw wildcard, as part of a deal between Tennis Australia and the USTA. World No. 131 Arina Rodionova heads the eight-player Australian field, in a knock out format.
The Connecticut Open has been played in New Haven since 1998 and last year, world No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Elina Svitolina, to win the title and $130,300.