23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams will be among the players eyeing the title in San Jose towards the beginning of the hard court summer, with the American set to be in action at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic from July 30th to August 5th.
With the tournament changing both sponsor and venue since 2017, with the tournament moving from Stanford to the San Jose State University Campus, it will undoubtedly be an interesting year for the event, and this interest is only increased by the stellar field in place. Alongside Williams, who is continuing her return from giving birth to her first child, Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are set to be in action, as is defending champion Madison Keys.
Stellar field set for San Jose’s tournament debut
Undoubtedly the most notable name in the draw is that of Serena Williams, who has used her Protected Ranking to enter the draw. Thrice a champion at the old tournament in Stanford, it will be interesting to see how the American fares in California; assuming she plays at Wimbledon, this will probably be just her fifth tournament since the beginning of season.
The current American number one is also in action, with Madison Keys looking to defend her title. Keys used her run to the title to help push her to the US Open final last summer and will hoping for another strong run, as will 2017 runner-up Coco Vandeweghe, who returns to the tournament as a US Open semifinalist. Alongside Williams, Keys, and Vandeweghe, Danielle Collins, Alison Riske, Catherine Bellis, and Sachia Vickery will also all be in action in front of their home crowd.
However, aside from Williams, the big start attractions are Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, both of whom are former Grand Slam champions and world number ones. Sharapova is now closing in on returning to the top twenty after a solid return from her suspension, whilst Azarenka is continuing her comeback from giving birth to her son and the ensuing custody battle for him.
Other notable names in action include Johanna Konta, who won her maiden WTA title in Stanford two years ago, and Elise Mertens, who has picked up three titles on tour this year and reached the last four at the Australian Open. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Mihaela Buzarnescu, and Kristina Mladenovic are amongst the other names entered.