Tuesday, June 21, 2016

DC-Area Native Tiafoe Joins Citi Open Field

Frances Tiafoe will compete at next month's Citi Open

From our friends at the Citi Open...

DC-Area Native Francis Tiafoe Receives Wild Card Entry to Citi Open Tennis Tournament Main Draw

DC’s Capital Tennis Tradition Begins July 16 at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center

Frances Tiafoe, one of the most promising young American players and a native of Prince George’s County, MD, will receive a wild card entry into the main draw of the 2016 Citi Open Tennis Tournament. The Nation’s Capital Tennis Tradition will be held July 16-24 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.

“I’m looking forward to the Citi Open this year more than any other tournament,” Tiafoe said. “I am thankful for the chance to play in front of my family and friends and will make the most of the opportunity.”



Tiafoe, 18, was the youngest player in the Top 200 of the ATP World Tour Rankings last year. In 2014, at 16 years old, Tiafoe made his ATP World Tour debut at the Citi Open with a wild card entry, in front of a cheering home crowd. In 2015, he secured his first ATP singles win at Winston-Salem, and competed in the main draws of both the French Open and U.S. Open. This year, he was named as one of 14 ATP “Next Generation” - young players who are rising to prominence in the sport.

“We’re excited to offer Frances home-court advantage in this year’s tournament,” said Jeff Newman, tournament director. “Washington fans have a chance to come out and support our homegrown talent - I know we can expect great things from him in the coming years.”

Tiafoe joins an exciting field of players at the tournament, which includes current top seed World No. 9 Tomas Berdych; three-time tournament champion and former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro; 2015 tournament finalist John Isner; dynamic players Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios; Americans Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, Denis Kudla, Steve Johnson, and Taylor Fritz; and top international stars Grigor Dimitrov, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, and Borna Coric.

In the exciting women’s field, the tournament boasts former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki; defending champion Sloane Stephens; former U.S. Open champion and current No. 1 seed Samantha Stosur; Grand Slam finalists Eugenie Bouchard and Sabine Lisicki; and American Shelby Rogers, who had an incredible run to this year’s French Open quarterfinals.

The full doubles field is expected about two weeks before the tournament, headlined by the world’s most successful doubles team of all time, Bob and Mike Bryan. Players are subject to change due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances.

The 48th edition of the Capital Tennis Tradition benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF), the tournament’s nonprofit owner and beneficiary. The organization provides underserved children in the D.C.-area with a safe environment to learn critical life skills both on and off the courts through academic and athletic enrichment.

The Citi Open Tennis Tournament has been Washington, DC’s premier tennis event since 1969. The tournament is the only elite ATP World Tour 500-level event held in the United States, and has featured a WTA International Tournament since 2011, making it one of only four tournaments in the country that include both men’s and women’s fields. Champions over the tournament’s 48-year history include some of the most historic names in tennis, including Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and many more.

Courtside box seats, a variety of all-session and multi-session ticket packages, and group packages are available online at www.citiopentennis.com. Courtside hospitality suites are also available by calling the tournament hotline at (202) 721-9500.

Single session/daily tickets are now available at www.citiopentennis.com. Each ticket provides fans access to the action on all six match courts for up to as many as 26 matches per session in the early rounds providing tremendous value for the ticket price.

For more information, visit www.citiopentennis.com, or follow the Citi Open on www.facebook.com/citiopen, @CitiOpen on Twitter, or CitiOpen on Instagram. The Citi Open Tennis Tournament is a Lagardère Sports production, and is a registered service mark of its title sponsor Citigroup Inc.

About WTEF:
The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) is a premier educational and tennis organization for underserved children in Washington, DC. The mission of WTEF is to improve the life prospects of low-income, underserved children and youth in the District of Columbia through athletic and academic enrichment. We seek to keep children off city streets during out-of-school time in a safe environment they can trust. We also engage them in productive activities that teach discipline, build confidence, improve school performance, and encourage a healthy lifestyle. We empower our students to achieve their highest potential by helping them develop meaningful values and critical life skills that will lead them to make constructive life choices. WTEF builds life champions.

About Citi:
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com; Twitter: @Citi; YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi; Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi; LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About Lagardère Sports:
Lagardère Sports is a leading sport marketing agency, with a global network of local experts dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that meet our clients’ needs. We believe sport inspires emotions and passion that are essential to enrich people’s lives and generate powerful collective experiences. At Lagardère Sports, we dedicate our expertise and passion to provide our clients with privileged access to the infinite opportunities of sports. Lagardère Sports is part of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, a company with more than 1,600 employees worldwide and 50 years of experience.