Tennis returns: Your guide to the sport in August

Thanks to COVID-19, 2020 has been an unprecedented year of delay in the sporting world. In regular circumstances, tennis fans would have been enjoying the spectacle of Wimbledon 2020 between the 29^th June and 12^th July but, instead, we’re in the midst of a protracted mid-season break that has definitely outstayed its welcome.

However, with lockdown restrictions easing in many countries, both the ATP and WTA decided that the time was right to resume the tennis season in August, albeit with some amendments to the schedule, thorough COVID screening and no audiences in attendance. With this in mind, here’s an overview of what excitement awaits fans of the sport when the action gets underway next month.

What’s happening and where?

Both the ATP and WTA have announced multiple fixtures for August. The WTA will resume first with the Palermo Ladies’ Open on the 3^rd August, while the ATP tour starts on the 14^th August when the Washington Open in Washington D.C. takes place. The women will play another tournament on the 10t^h for the Prague Open, before both ATP and WTA players compete at the Cincinnati Masters on the 21^st. Finally, the US Open will close the month for both tours when it starts on 31^st August.

The schedule looks like:

3rd August: WTA Palermo Ladies’ Open, Palermo, Italy

The Palermo Ladies’ Open is the tournament that will kick-off the restart to the tennis season. It will be the second time the competition is held after it was reintroduced to the women’s tour in 2019 and will be hosted on the outdoor clay courts at Palermo’s Country Time Club.

The current singles champion is Jill Teichmann, who defeated Kiki Bertens in the final last year, while the doubles champions are Cornelia Lister and Renata Voráčová.

10th August: WTA Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic

Shortly after the Palermo Open is the Prague Open, which returns for its 11^th edition and 6^th since it became part of the WTA tour. It will be hosted at the TK Sparta Praha’s outdoor clay courts.

The current singles champion is, again, Jill Teichmann, after her victory over Karolína Muchová in the 2019 final. The reigning doubles champions are Anna Kalinskaya and Viktória Kužmová.

14th August: Washington Open, Washington D.C., USA (ATP confirmed)

The ATP tour continues with the Washington Open on the hard courts of the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington D.C. For most of its 51-year history, the tournament has been part of the US Open Series, the run of tournaments leading up to the prestigious Grand Slam. Currently, just the male ATP players are confirmed for this tournament, with WTA talks ongoing for female players.

The reigning men’s singles champion from 2019 is Nick Kyrgios, who defeated Daniil Medvedev last year. For the men’s doubles, the champions are Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus.

21st August: Cincinnati Masters, New York, USA (WTA and ATP)

The next stop for both tours is the Cincinnati Masters in New York, where the event will be held at its temporary home of Flushing Meadows due to COVID-19. Second only to the US Open for prestige in the USA, players use it to set down a marker for their Grand Slam ambitions.

In 2019, the men’s singles champion was Daniil Medvedev and the women’s singles champion was Madison Keys. The doubles winners were Ivan Dodig and Filip Polášek (men’s) and Lucie Hradecká and Andreja Klepač (women’s).

31st August: US Open, New York, USA (WTA and ATP)

Right at the end of the month, the 2020 US Open will take place in New York on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King. It is the biggest tennis tournament in the USA and one of the major Grand Slams in the sport’s calendar.

The reigning men’s champion from 2019 is Rafael Nadal, who defeated Daniil Medvedev, while the current women’s champion is Bianca Andreescu, who beat Serena Williams. The doubles champions are Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah (men’s), Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka (women’s) and Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (mixed).

Hopefully, this has given you a good idea of what to expect in August when it comes to tennis. It’s also worth knowing that these schedules are subject to change and may not be final.

The editorial unit