Field released for New Haven event

The player entry list for the Oracle Challenger Series, a combined men’s and women’s tennis event to be held in New Haven in September has been released.

The group is led by 32 Americans, including former ATP Tour Top 10 player Jack Sock; 2019 Citi Open singles champion Jessica Pegula; and Oracle Challenger Series Houston Champion Bradley Klahn.

The event will run Sept. 28 at the Connecticut Tennis Center. Matches will be held at the Yale Tennis Varsity Courts. Stadium Court will not be used for the event. Admission to the Oracle Challenger Series is free by registering for a free ticket. Parking is available on site for $10 per car.

The first stop on the 20192020 Road to Indian Wells will bring professional tennis back to New Haven, signifying the first pro event hosted in the area since the departure of the WTAsanctioned Connecticut Open in 2018.

Americans joining Pegula in the women's field are World No. 70 Jennifer Brady, who was a finalist at the 2019 Series finale at Indian Wells; Christina McHale, a former Top 25 singles player; and twotime Series doubles champion Taylor Townsend. They will be challenged by a strong international pool of competitors including Monica

Niculescu, who has accumulated three singles and nine doubles titles on Tour; Barbora Krejcikova, who captured the Roland Garros and Wimbledon doubles titles in 2018; Daria Gavrilova, former Connecticut Open champion (2018); and Margarita Gasparyan, current World No. 59 and twotime WTA title winner.

On the men’s side, the field is highlighted by Klahn, the 2018 Houston champion and Denis Istomin, the 2018 Chicago champion. World No. 79 Steve Johnson, a fourtime ATP Tour singles winner, will make his Oracle Challenger Series debut. Donald Young, who reached a career high of No. 38 in the world, will also compete.

Additionally, the Series’ inaugural 20192020 tournament will feature the Oracle Champions Cup, an Invesco Series QQQ event, on Sept. 7. The onenight tournament will be headlined by former Fairfield resident and former World No. 4 James Blake; 2003 U.S. Open Champion and former World No. 1 Andy Roddick; former World No. 2 Tommy Haas; and twotime Davis Cup titlist and former World No. 8 Mark Philippoussis. Tickets range from $35 for general admission to $85 for reserved bleachers and $150 for courtside seating. Tickets are available at www.invescoseries.com.

Young’s performance in the Oracle Challenger Series last year included semifinal appearances in both Chicago and Indian Wells, allowing him to capture one of the two wild card spots into the BNP Paribas Open, offered to the top two men’s and women’s players that accumulate the most points throughout the Series. 2019 Indian Wells doubles champion and Series veteran Marcos Giron will make his 5th Series appearance. Chilean Nicholas Jarry, who has registered two Top 10 wins this season, enters the field, along with ATP Tour No. 60 Cameron Norrie.

Oracle US Tennis Award recipients JC Aragone (2019), Christopher Eubanks (2018) and Francesca Di Lorenzo (2018) will also compete in the main draw at New Haven. The award, given out annually at the BNP Paribas Open, provides $100,000 grants to one male and one female professional who demonstrate

exemplary sportsmanship and an aptitude for success on the pro tour.

The 20192020 Oracle Challenger Series will continue in Houston on November 1017, 2019, with additional stops to be announced in the coming months. The Challenger Series culminates at the 2020 BNP Paribas Open, the largest ATP Tour and WTA combined twoweek event in the world, held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The tournament is recruiting ball persons and volunteers for the event in New Haven. Those wishing to participate should email ballkids@

oraclechallengerseries.com. For more information about the Oracle Challenger Series, visit http://www.

invescoseries.com.