Rome, Georgia… not Rome, Italy hosting professional tennis in January.
There will be top-150 players in Rome, Georgia as professional women’s tennis kicks off in the United States in Rome with Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open.
Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open will be the first USTA Pro Circuit event held in the U.S. for 2021. The women’s 60K event will be held Jan. 25-31 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College. The Pro Circuit is the launching pad for many young players to a successful pro career and a way for seasoned pros to climb back up the rankings after inactivity or an injury.
“It’s an amazing player field,” stated Tournament Director Ann Hortman. “This being our first time to host the pro circuit, we are excited to have so many current and former top-150 players coming to Rome.”
Here is the 2021 main draw entry list: (Country, Player, Ranking)
1 BEL Greet Minnen 110
2 RUS Anna Kalinskaya 114
3 EGY Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz 128
4 BLR Olga Govortsova 134
5 MEX Renata Zarazua 142
6 USA Francesca Di Lorenzo 143
7 SVK Kristina Kucova 147
8 GBR Harriet Dart 150
9 DEN Clara Tauson 152
10 USA Usue Maitane Arconada 154
11 SUI Leonie Kung 157
12 USA Sachia Vickery 158
13 USA Whitney Osuigwe 161
14 UKR Anhelina Kalinina 163
15 PAR Veronica Cepede Royg 175
16 NED Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 176
17 IND Ankita Raina 180
18 USA Varvara Lepchenko 181
19 JPN Mayo Hibi 182
20 CHN Xiaodi You 185
Notes:
Five American players on the entry list.
Belgian Greet Minnen has been ranked as high as No. 104 and has won a WTA doubles title.
Olga Govortsova has been ranked as high as No. 35 and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2015.
22-year old Anna Kalinskaya has been ranked as high as No. 96.
American, Varvara Lepchenko has been ranked as high No. 19 and is a former Australian Open semifinalist.
The women’s event will feature a 32-player singles qualifying draw, a 32-player singles main draw and a 16-team doubles draw with a field made up of well-known professional players as well as up-and-coming junior tennis stars.
In its debut year, Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open will feature many of the best women tennis players in the world. It is the third largest professional tournament in the state of Georgia in terms of prize money (ATP World Tour 250 event – Truist Atlanta Open in July, is the largest, Mercer Tennis Classic 80K Womens is second).
Many of the Rome players have had success in tennis’ four major tournaments.
We thank patrons for their support, but no spectators for the 2021 event.
“As the only women’s pro circuit event in the USA in January, we expect many of the top young players on the women’s tour to be in Rome,” stated Hortman.
The event will adhere to all government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions, including social-distancing, throughout the duration of the tournament.
