Emma Raducanu sat on a stage at what she called one of her favorite tournaments but acknowledged she was a bit conflicted about being there.
Like many prominent players in this year’s DC Open field, Raducanu declined an opportunity to compete at the Paris Olympics, opting instead to spend her summer on the North American hard-court circuit. It was a difficult choice. “Of course there are elements of FOMO — missing out,” the 21-year-old Brit said at a pretournament news conference Saturday, a day after she watched the Games’ Opening Ceremonies. “… A part of you obviously wants to be there representing your country.”
With main-draw play set to begin Monday at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, players cited different reasons for ultimately choosing D.C. over Paris. Some wanted an opportunity to prepare for the hard courts and humidity of the U.S. Open, in a sport in which major titles are more prestigious than gold medals. Others were in pursuit of ranking points that tour events offer but the Olympics do not.
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Above all, many wanted to protect their health by maintaining the routines of a traditional tennis schedule. Players with significant injury histories were especially reluctant to shoehorn a transition back to the clay courts of Paris in between the grass- and hard-court seasons.
“The change of surface isn’t the best thing for me right now,” said Raducanu, who has battled injuries since winning the U.S. Open in 2021. “… When I think big picture, long term, it’s the right call.”
The 55th edition of the DC Open, the sticky, sweaty staple of D.C.’s midsummer calendar, will host top-20 players, former Grand Slam champions and recognizable Americans despite competing directly against the Olympic tennis tournament. The main draw runs from Monday until Sunday.
In addition to Raducanu, the women’s singles field includes world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 16 Ons Jabeur, No. 20 Victoria Azarenka, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens. The men’s draw features No. 9 Andrey Rublev along with three top-30 Americans: No. 14 Ben Shelton, No. 23 Sebastian Korda and No. 29 Frances Tiafoe.
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“We’ll make it our small Olympics here,” Jabeur said. “... This tournament is pretty strong. So many top athletes are here. … It’s going to be a very tough draw.”
Jabeur, a trailblazing icon in her native Tunisia, decided to forgo the Olympics because of a balky knee that makes surface changes especially arduous. Instead, the fan favorite and three-time Grand Slam finalist is appearing in D.C. for the first time since 2019.
“There are so many players that had different injuries, and they chose not to risk [going to the Olympics] because of that,” the 29-year-old Jabeur said. “You’re playing clay, playing a big event like the Olympics, I think you need to be ready and perform at your best. I’m not very young anymore.”
Likewise, former world No. 2 Paula Badosa was wary of aggravating a back injury that caused her to miss three of the four majors last year.
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“If I keep changing from hard to clay and grass, at the end I can struggle,” said Badosa, who is making her debut appearance at the DC Open. “[My back] can get inflamed more easily. … Sometimes mentally you’re a little bit scared of that. I want to avoid that feeling. When I have one surface for weeks, I think my body adapts better. … I think that’s the smartest decision.”
Korda, whose father, Petr, won the tournament in 1992, said he wanted to play a tournament closer to home after spending several months in Europe. He said he hopes to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Games and follow in the footsteps of his sisters, Nelly and Jessica, both Olympic golfers.
Tiafoe, meanwhile, is a native of Hyattsville and a crowd favorite who is making his eighth appearance at his home tournament.
The field also includes players whose nations have been banned from the Olympics over their involvement in the war in Ukraine and who could compete in Paris only as neutral athletes. Among the tournament’s seeded singles players in that situation are Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia, along with Sabalenka and Azarenka from Belarus.
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The Olympics did poach several stars from last year’s draw — most notably defending women’s singles champion Coco Gauff, who was one of the U.S. flag bearers during the Opening Ceremonies.
But enthusiasm for the D.C. Open remains high. Stadium tickets are sold out for the fourth year in a row, though some grounds passes for the outer courts remain available, according to tournament chair Mark Ein.
On Saturday, for the first day of qualifying, thousands of fans dressed in linen shirts, sundresses and visors walked the concourses as the sounds of squeaking sneakers filled the air. Many peered through chain-link fences to catch glimpses of players on the practice courts. Outside a player compound, kids surrounded Azarenka, Korda and Khachanov, seeking autographs on their oversized souvenir tennis balls.
“I’m really humbled by the support we’ve gotten in this community,” Ein said. “I’ve always known, being a product of it myself, that we have one of the best tennis communities in America. … I think [the turnout] is a huge tribute to how much people watch and love the sport and love this event.”
