July 21, 2022 – Taylor Townsend has been tabbed to play Coco Gauff in the Sunday Showdown delivered by UPS feature women’s event to kickoff the 2022 Atlanta Open. The annual women's exhibition jump starts off the men's ATP event takes place on July 24. This year's ATP 250 event will run from July 23-31, in Midtown, Atlanta as the U.S. Open Series kicks off on the North American hardcourts at Atlantic Station.
Townsend will replace the injured Leylah Fernandez. The 26-year old has been a fixture in the top-100 for years. She is an aggressive all-court player; strengths are forehand, net game and her slice backhand. In 2012, she was the No. 1 ranked junior in the world, winning the Australian Open Juniors in singles and doubles. Taylor thrilled the US Open crowds in 2019 when she stunned reigning Wimbledon champion Simona Halep en route to the fourth round, and made another big announcement on Instagram, revealing she was expecting her first child. Taylor has successfully become one of the tennis-playing moms on the WTA Tour. She has been ranked in the top-70 on the WTA rankings and is also an accomplished doubles player. Off the court, she has received rave reviews for her analysis and commentary on Tennis Channel.
Tournament Director Eddie Gonzalez also announced the final two wildcard recipients to the main and qualifying singles draws.
Receiving a singles main draw wildcard is University of Florida star player, Ben Shelton. After reaching the finals at the Rome (GA) Challenger earlier this month, Shelton is up to a career high ranking of No. 323. The tall lefty won the 2022 NCAA Singles Championship and currently leads the 2022 USTA US Open Wildcard standings for a main draw singles wildcard into the 2022 U.S. Open. Ben's father, Bryan, is a former World No. 55, winning two ATP Tour titles (Newport 1991-92). This will be Ben's first ATP level singles main draw.
Gonzalez also announced that top US junior player Bruno Kuzuhara has accepted a wildcard into the singles qualifying. Born in Brazil, his family moved to the U.S. when he was an infant and now lives in Coconut Creek, Florida. He has trained under Brian Baker at the USTA National Campus in Florida. In 2021, the 18-year old made his US Open debut playing in the mixed doubles draw. Atlanta will be his ATP debut. As the No. 1 seed, Bruno won the 2022 Australian Open in Boy's Singles and went on to win the doubles title as well. At 17 years old, he became the fourth American in the Open Era to claim the junior singles title, following in the footsteps of Andy Roddick, Donald Young and Sebastian Korda. He was also the first player since 2011 to sweep the singles and doubles events.
In player field news, Andy Murray has had to withdraw due to injury.
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About the Atlanta Open
The Atlanta Open is held each year in July in Atlantic Station and is one of the summer tournaments in the US Open Series. The tournament features men’s top world tennis players in singles and doubles competition. Approximately 40,000 fans attend the tournament and bring an estimated economic impact of $10.3 million to Atlanta. John Isner won the 2021 title along with the 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014 and 2013 titles. Andy Roddick won his last ATP World Tour title when he defeated Gilles Muller at the 2012 BB&T Atlanta Open. Mardy Fish holds the title for 2011 and 2010. The tournament website is www.atlantaopentennis.com.
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SeatGeek is the leading mobile-focused ticket platform that enables fans to buy and sell tickets for sports, concert, and theater events. With industry-leading mobile ticketing apps, a fan-friendly user experience and its proprietary Deal Score™ technology that helps fans identify the best ticket values for a given event, SeatGeek is transforming the way that fans buy and sell tickets to their favorite events. SeatGeek Enterprise - the company’s primary ticketing platform - is used by 25 percent of the Premier League clubs, as well as the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. Headquartered in New York, SeatGeek also has international offices in the U.K., Israel, Netherlands, and Italy.
About U.S. Open Series
The US Open Series serves as a true “regular season” of summer tennis in North America, linking WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly viewing schedule, as well as comprehensive outreach and grassroots engagement initiatives, the Series serves as a vital platform to promote and grow the game of tennis in person and at home. Fans can follow along all summer as today’s top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow’s emerging stars, while each tournament engages its local community with a variety of programs geared toward showcasing and promoting the game to new and existing fans.
About GF Sports and Entertainment
GF Sports and Entertainment is a live events and sports media entertainment company created by New York-based private equity firm GF Capital Management & Advisors, LLC. Formed in July 2015, GF Sports and Entertainment owns two of the ATP World Tour's longest running American tournaments, the Dallas Open and the Atlanta Open, as well as the New York National Lacrosse League team the New York Riptide. GF Sports also incubates new and emerging sport concepts utilizing its global expertise and network to help develop niche sports. Such concepts include Wolf Pack Ninjas, which operates ninja-focused events globally.
About The ATP
As a global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. We entertain a billion global fans, showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments, and inspire the next generation of fans and players. From the ATP Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and Pepperstone ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, presented by Pepperstone, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit www.ATPTour.com.
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