FRANCIS TIAFOE AWARDED WILD CARD ENTRY TO CITI OPEN® TOURNAMENT MAIN DRAW
Three Other Top Juniors Receiving Wild Card Entries to Qualifying Rounds
WASHINGTON — Francis Tiafoe, the No. 6 ranked junior in International Tennis Federation, has received a wild card entry to the main draw of the Citi Open® Tournament. It will be the College Park, Md., native’s first foray into an ATP World Tour tournament’s main draw.
Tiafoe, 16, won the Citi Open® Wild Card Challenge in June and earned his spot with a wild card entry in the qualifying rounds. Tournament officials, however, decided that main draw play would be more fitting for the hometown player.
“We’re excited to watch Francis in his first main draw match,” said Jeff Newman, tournament director. “This is his hometown and this is where he trains, so we expect a great crowd to come out and support him.”
Tiafoe trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, one of the leading training programs in the country. In 2012, he became the youngest winner of the Orange Bowl Championship, and earlier this year, played at both French Open Juniors and Wimbledon Juniors.
“I’m so excited to play in my first main draw ATP event and I can’t imagine a better place to play than in front of my hometown crowd,” Tiafoe said. “I’m so thankful to the Citi Open® for giving me this great opportunity.”
Three other juniors will receive a wild card entry into the qualifying rounds, beginning Saturday, July 26. Stefan Kozlov, 16, the current No. 2 ranked junior in the world, reached the finals of both Australian Open Juniors and Wimbledon Juniors this year. University of Virginia junior Ryan Shane, 20, helped the Cavaliers win the NCAA championship in 2013, and was recently named “Player to Watch” by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Jordi Arconada, 17, the runner-up in the Wild Card Challenge, will take Tiafoe’s place in the qualifying rounds.
—S. Pegarido, Citi Open
Tennis Atlantic 