US Open Series: Previewing Atlanta to Winston-Salem

The US Open Series officially begins with Atlanta, and culminates at the US Open in late August. Here's a look at all the 2019 stops.

1

For the BB&T Atlanta Open's ninth year on tour, John Isner is looking to add a sixth title to his record title collection of six. Grigor Dimitrov will also be joining the field, accepting a wild card into the main draw. It's hard to imagine anyone stopping Isner's reign, especially after getting a confidence boost from winning the title in Newport this week. The tournament has also recently changed their courts, making the experience better than ever.

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2

This year, the biggest change to the tournament is a VIP-seating section, called the Stadium Club, where fans can enjoy the matches in air conditioned comfort while the players sweat on court.

This year's draw is better than ever, with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori, and Milos Raonic all joining the field, just to name a few. One notable exception to the line-up is Alexander Zverev who will not be at the tournament to defend his title. Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, the soon-to-be superstar that made her way to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, is currently awaiting to see if she will make the Citi Open's qualifying draw, which will be finalized at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, July 26. Gauff's acceptance depends on how many players ranked higher on the list opt to proceed with playing the tournament—her pre-Wimbledon ranking of No. 313 is what will ultimately determine her fate.

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3

San Jose is the first, and only, entirely WTA tournament in the US Open Series, and it has seen some of the greatest women players compete including Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams. The tournament moved to San Jose last year after 20 years at Stanford. One of the biggest names to watch out for this year is Elina Svitolina, whose semifinal run at Wimbledon may give her the edge she needs to take home the title. You can also never count out Venus Williams who is looking to bounce back after a first-round loss at Wimbledon.

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4

A fan-favorite event in Canada, there is one woman that people will go crazy to see: Bianca Andreescu. The Canadian has been on an injury hiatus but will be looking to make her mark in her home country and her Indian Wells title win this year shows that she has what it takes to win another Premier 5 event. Of course, Simona Halep won't make it easy, as the recent Wimbledon champion and Rogers Cup defending champion wants to stay on her winning streak.

Every member of the Top 20 will be joining Halep and Andreescu in Toronto, while the men compete in Montreal. Rafael Nadal won the crown last year over a red-hot Stefanos Tsitsipas, and both will be back this summer along with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Canadian hopefuls Milos Raonic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.

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5

Two Masters/Premier 5 tournaments back to back? Summer is truly the best time to be a tennis fan, and the player field is about as stacked as anyone could have hoped. Wimbledon champion Djokovic, runner-up Roger Federer, Nadal, Tsitsipas, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty will all be headlining in Cincinnati (and that's far from all the star power in the field).

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6

The newest of the US Open series tournaments, getting renamed in 2011, the Winston-Salem Open is a perfect final stopping point before the US Open. One of the biggest players to watch out for is Tomas Berdych, a former finalist who lost to Isner in a three-set thriller in 2012. The Czech accepted a wild card into the year's edition.

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Last year, the US Open Series rewarded two Breakout Performers, chosen through voting. Stefanos Tstisipas and Aryna Sabalenka won the inaugural honors, and a second duo of breakout stars will be named ahead of this year's US Open.