The Oracle Challenger Series – to be held January 27 – February 2, 2020 at the Newport Beach Tennis Club in Newport Beach, California – has released its player entry lists, which are led by two-time Grand Slam semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe; four-time ATP Tour singles winner Steve Johnson; 2019 Oracle Challenger Series champions Tommy Paul and Marcos Giron; 2019 Oracle Challenger Series Newport Beach finalist Jessica Pegula; and Canadian former World No. 5 Eugenie Bouchard.
A six-time WTA winner across singles and doubles, Rancho Santa Fe native Vandeweghe highlights the women’s main draw as she continues her comeback campaign following extensive layoffs in 2019 due to injury. Vandeweghe is a 2018 US Open Champion in doubles, as well as a two-time Grand Slam singles semifinalist, with career-high rankings of No. 10 (singles) and No. 14 (doubles). She advanced to the finals at the 2019 Oracle Challenger Series Houston, and currently sits in the second spot on the Road to Indian Wells Leaderboard. Pegula, who captured her first WTA Tour level title at Washington last summer and also finished as runner-up at last year’s Newport Beach event is slated to compete, while World No. 77 Townsend – the highest-ranked player in the women’s draw – is hoping to build upon the momentum she gained from an improbable Round of 16 run at the 2019 US Open. Also entered is teenage sensation and World No. 118 Catherine McNally; New Haven finalist and current points leader on the Road to Indian Wells Leaderboard Usue Arconada; Challenger Series veteran Nicole Gibbs; former top-25 singles player Christina McHale; and 2018 Oracle US Tennis Award recipient Francesca Di Lorenzo. Former UCLA Bruin Robin Anderson and former USC Trojan Danielle Lao are also set to compete.
The American women will be challenged by a strong pool of international competitors including the Canadian Bouchard, a 2014 Wimbledon finalist, Tatjana Maria (GER), semifinalist last year in Newport Beach; Heather Watson (GBR), former British No. 1; Sara Errani (ITA), former French Open finalist and 2018 Oracle Challenger Series Indian Wells champion; and Stefanie Voegele (SUI), 2019 Oracle Challenger Series Houston semifinalist.
A potent men’s field is highlighted by two Southern California natives in Johnson and Giron, who played their collegiate tennis for crosstown rivals USC and UCLA respectively. World No. 84 Johnson is making his Oracle Challenger Series debut, while Giron, who currently sits atop the Road to Indian Wells Leaderboard, is a multiple-time champion having taken home the doubles trophy last year in Indian Wells as well as the 2019 Houston singles title. World No. 90 and 2019 New Haven champion Paul is looking to build on an incredible 2019 season that saw him take home three ATP Challenger Tour titles and crack the Top 100 for the first time, while 2018 Houston champion Bradley Klahn also joins the field. World No. 68 and 2018 Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren is the highest-ranked American in the men’s draw. Local UCLA grad and 2017 Oracle US Tennis Award recipient Mackenzie McDonald returns to Newport Beach, alongside the following years’ men’s beneficiaries in Christopher Eubanks (2018) and JC Aragone (2019). Former top-ranked collegiate player J.J. Wolf and Challenger Series veteran Donald Young also join the list of American men in Newport Beach.
World No. 62 Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic is the highest-ranked player in the men’s draw and leads a host of talented international standouts. Canada’s Brayden Schnur, who finished as runner-up in last year’s Newport Beach event, as well as Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez, who played collegiate tennis at nearby USC, also join the field.
The remaining spots in both the men’s and women’s main draws will be filled by wild cards, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
All matches will be played at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, located at 2601 Eastbluff Dr. Newport Beach, CA 92660. Admission to the Oracle Challenger Series is free by registering for a free ticket. Free parking is also available on-site. Matches will start at 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday, January 27 through Saturday, February 1. On Sunday, February 2, matches will begin at 11:00 a.m.
In addition, RBC Wealth Management has become the presenting sponsor of the tournament, as well as the Oracle Champions Cup, a one-night men’s legends exhibition event on Saturday, February 1. RBC Wealth Management is a strong supporter of American tennis, including with the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas and the RBC Pro Challenge-Tyler. They also support ATP Tour professional and 2017 Oracle U.S. Tennis Award recipient Mackenzie McDonald.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments