CINCINNATI (August 12, 2016) — The full list of singles wild card recipients has been released in advance of the making of the draws Friday evening.
Joining Serena Williams in receiving main draw wild cards for the WTA event are Americans Louisa Chirico and Christina McHale.
In the ATP World Tour main draw, Jared Donaldson, Reilly Opelka and Fernando Verdasco will join Taylor Fritz in receiving wild cards.
Below is a brief bio for each recipient:
WTA MAIN DRAW
Louisa Chirico (USA) – A 20-year-old from New Jersey, she broke through at Madrid in May where she reached the semifinals as a qualifier. She is making her main draw debut here after playing in qualifying in 2015.
Christina McHale (USA) – A 24-year-old from New Jersey, she reached the semifinals in Acapulco earlier this season. As a wild card here in 2011, she upset World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.
Serena Williams (USA) – The World No. 1 won her 22nd career Grand Slam tournament title at Wimbledon earlier this summer. She has reached three straight Western & Southern Open finals, and is the two-time defending champion.
ATP MAIN DRAW
Jared Donaldson (USA) – A 19-year-old from Rhode Island who comes into this event having a 4-2 record during the Emirates Airline US Open Series. He earned his first career ATP Masters 1000 win here last year.
Taylor Fritz (USA) – An 18-year-old from California, he is the youngest player in the ATP Top 100. Earlier this season, he reached the Memphis final in just his third ATP event. He was the youngest American to reach an ATP final since 1989 when 17-year-old Michael Chang won at Wembley. A former junior No. 1, Fritz won the 2015 US Open boys title.
Reilly Opelka (USA) – An 18-year-old who stands 6-foot-11 who was born in Michigan, he improved his ranking by over 400 positions this week after reaching the semifinals at Atlanta. Last year he won the Wimbledon boys title.
Fernando Verdasco (Spain) – This veteran will be making his 11th appearance here. He owns seven titles in his career, including winning earlier this year Bucharest.
The singles draws for the Western & Southern Open will be made Friday evening. Play begins with the opening round of qualifying at 10 am on Saturday, August 13.
