Even though Rafael Nadal has not yet confirmed for the US Open, his name is included in the player entry list of the tune-up event Cincinnati Masters.
The Masters event, to be played from August 22-28, will be held at Flushing Meadows this time, a week ahead of the US Open to keep the players safe in a bio-secure bubble in New York.
If Nadal plays, he will be seeded second while world No 1 Novak Djokovic will be the top seed for the ATP 1000 event.
Marks restart
With the Citi Open in Washington DC cancelled, the Cincinnati Masters will be the first men’s event to be played since the tour was suspended in March due to Coronavirus.
Despite his initial concerns over the elaborate security measures for the US Open, the Serb was expected to play the hard-court Grand Slam. He has reportedly also asked the US Open to supply him with the type of balls they will be using during the fortnight for practice.
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The big question mark, however, was on Nadal’s participation. The defending champion hasn’t sounded too keen about travelling to the USA in the middle of the pandemic and has resumed training on clay courts, hinting that he’s getting ready for the dirt season.
Nadal had also confirmed participation for the Madrid Masters, which begins a day after the US Open final.
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But with 19 Grand Slam titles to his name, the 34-year-old is only one short of Roger Federer’s record tally and may well decide to play the remaining majors this year to overhaul it.
Pliskova top seed
On the women’s side, the top two players in the world – Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep—have not entered the Cincinnati event.
Karolina Pliskova is slated to be the top seed, however all eyes may be on the 38-year-old Serena Williams as she resumes her bid to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 singles majors.
ATP Tour and WTA Player Entry Lists
Lists As of 10am on July 29
| Rank | Name | Age | Nat. | Rank | Name | Age | Nat. | |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 33 | SRB | 3 | Karolina Pliskova | 28 | CZE | |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 34 | ESP | 4 | Sofia Kenin | 21 | USA | |
| 3 | Dominic Thiem | 26 | AUT | 7 | Kiki Bertens | 28 | NED | |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev | 24 | RUS | 8 | Belinda Bencic | 23 | SUI | |
| 6 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 21 | GRE | 9 | Serena Williams | 38 | USA | |
| 7 | Alexander Zverev | 23 | GER | 11 | Aryna Sabalenka | 22 | BLR | |
| 8 | Matteo Berrettini | 24 | ITA | 12 | Petra Kvitova | 30 | CZE | |
| 10 | David Goffin | 29 | BEL | 13 | Madison Keys | 25 | USA | |
| 12 | Roberto Bautista Agut | 32 | ESP | 14 | Johanna Konta | 29 | GBR | |
| 13 | Diego Schwartzman | 27 | ARG | 16 | Garbiñe Muguruza | 26 | ESP | |
| 14 | Andrey Rublev | 22 | RUS | 17 | Elena Rybakina | 21 | KAZ | |
| 15 | Karen Khachanov | 24 | RUS | 18 | Marketa Vondrousova | 21 | CZE | |
| 16 | Denis Shapovalov | 21 | CAN | 19 | Alison Riske | 30 | USA | |
| 18 | Cristian Garin | 24 | CHI | 20 | Maria Sakkari | 24 | GRE | |
| 19 | Grigor Dimitrov | 29 | BUL | 22 | Anett Kontaveit | 24 | EST | |
| 20 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 19 | CAN | 23 | Elise Mertens | 24 | BEL | |
| 21 | John Isner | 35 | USA | 24 | Donna Vekic | 24 | CRO | |
| 22 | Benoit Paire | 31 | FRA | 25 | Dayana Yastremska | 25 | UKR | |
| 23 | Dusan Lajovic | 30 | SRB | 26 | Karolina Muchova | 23 | CZE | |
| 24 | Taylor Fritz | 22 | USA | 27 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 25 | RUS | |
| 25 | Pablo Carreno Busta | 29 | ESP | 28 | Amanda Anisimova | 18 | USA | |
| 26 | Alex de Minaur | 21 | AUS | 31 | Barbora Strycova | 34 | CZE | |
| 27 | Nikoloz Basilashvili | 28 | GEO | 32 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 35 | RUS | |
| 28 | Daniel Evans | 30 | GBR | 33 | Yulia Putintseva | 33 | KAZ | |
| 29 | Hubert Hurkacz | 23 | POL | 35 | Shuai Zhang | 31 | CHN | |
| 30 | Milos Raonic | 29 | CAN | 36 | Magda Linette | 28 | POL | |
| 31 | Kei Nishikori | 30 | JPN | 39 | Ons Jabeur | 27 | TUN | |
| 32 | Filip Krajinovic | 28 | SRB | 40 | Veronika Kudermetova | 23 | RUS | |
| 33 | Borna Coric | 23 | CRO | 42 | Kristina Mladenovic | 27 | FRA | |
| 34 | Jan-Lennard Struff | 30 | GER | 43 | Anastasia Sevestova | 30 | LAT | |
| 35 | Guido Pella | 30 | ARG | 44 | Rebecca Peterson | 24 | SWE | |
| 36 | Casper Ruud | 21 | NOR | 46 | Caroline Garcia | 26 | FRA | |
| 37 | Marin Cilic | 31 | CRO | 47 | Marie Bouzkova | 22 | CZE | |
| 38 | Adrian Mannarino | 32 | FRA | 48 | Jennifer Brady | 25 | USA | |
| 39 | Reilly Opelka | 22 | USA | 49 | Iga Swiatek | 19 | POL | |
| 40 | Nick Kyrgios | 25 | AUS | 50 | Heather Watson | 28 | GBR | |
| 41 | Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 32 | ESP | 51 | Danielle Collins | 26 | USA | |
| 42 | Ugo Humbert | 22 | FRA | 52 | Coco Gauff | 16 | USA | |
| 43 | John Millman | 31 | AUS | 53 | Fiona Ferro | 23 | FRA | |
| 123* | Kevin Anderson | 34 | RSA |
BOLD Indicates Past Western & Southern Open Champion *Using injury protected ranking
