Mubadala DC Open Main Draw Brings Tennis Royalty To D.C.
The Mubadala DC Open, a long-running tennis tournament, annually draws talented players and fans of the sport to the Nation’s Capital. After a well-attended qualifying weekend, the Mubadala DC Open’s main draw is underway on Monday (July 27), with major superstars of the game in action.
The Mubadala DC Open’s qualifying rounds kicked off on July 25 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center and concluded the next day, making way for the main draw tree for Monday. While American star Venus Williams is one of the most notable names of the Open, Alex Eala has grabbed plenty of headlines as well.
Eala, the No. 28-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, is the first Filipino woman to achieve the feat. Eala also caused a stir in tennis media for withdrawing from playing in the women’s doubles round of 16 alongside Williams, one of the best in that event in the sport.
According to The Big Lead, Eala put out a statement about stepping down from the highly anticipated doubles match.
“I have so much respect for Venus. I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have to be around her, to learn from her, to hit with her. But I do think this is my first week coming back, and I think that Venus is someone who deserves a partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, mentally when they’re on court with her,” Eala said.
Eala added, “I think right now I think I can only do that for singles. I don’t have the capacity yet to be able to give that in both singles and doubles. I’m really grateful for the opportunity that I had, or have, and hopefully we see more of it in the future.”
Williams will instead play alongside Diana Shnaider in the event.
On the women’s singles side, the top four seeds, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Diana Shnaider, all received byes and were bumped automatically to the round of 16.
On the men’s singles side, the top four seeds are Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Lorenzo Musetti. Shelton, the second seed and the highest-ranked American in the field, will engage in doubles and singles play on Monday, according to the schedule.
Aside from doubles play, Williams will face Anastasia Potapova on July 28 in singles play. Osaka will play the winner of the match between Katie Boulter and Ashlyn Krueger on July 29.
Taking to Threads, Osaka teased hosting a cookout for fans at the tournament, provided the grounds allow her to do so.
“[K]inda thinking of throwing a little cookout on site tomorrow if the tournament would let me lol. Would you guys pull up???” Osaka shared on Sunday (July 26).
Beyond tennis, the Open features a bevy of food options, including the Market Square Food Hall featuring vendors Oro Pizza, Duke’s Grocery, King Street Oyster, CAVA, Roaming Rooster, Dolcezza, Clay Boyz Shaved Ice, and Taco Bamba.
There is also a Tennis Channel broadcast desk allowing fans to witness live interviews with players fresh from the courts. Along with all the aforementioned, merchandise options remain plentiful as they have in the past, with new partners Wilson and Tuckernuck.
To learn more about the Mudadala DC Open and purchase tickets, click here.
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Photo: MDO
Mubadala DC Open Main Draw Brings Tennis Royalty To D.C. was originally published on cassiuslife.com
