World No.1 Iga Swiatek will begin her grass-court season at the Berlin Ladies Open, a WTA 500 event played at the Steffi Graf Stadium from June 15 to 23. The tournament has also announced No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and No.3 Coco Gauff, and expects nine of the Top 10 on the Hologic WTA Tour.
Former No.1s Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka are also set to play.
“We have a field of starters that is normally only found at Grand Slam tournaments,” said tournament director Barbara Rittner.
The Berlin Ladies Open is the first WTA 500 tournament of the grass-court season. It features a 32-player singles field with four byes, and a 16-team doubles field.
The tournament precedes the second and third WTA 500s of the grass season, the Rothesay International, in Eastbourne, England and Bad Homburg Open in Germany. All roads lead to the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.
2024 Grass Calendar:
- June 10: Libema Open (WTA 250), s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands; Rothesay Open (WTA 250), Nottingham, England
- June 17: Berlin Ladies Open (WTA 500), Berlin, Germany; Rothesay Classic (WTA 250), Birmingham, England
- June 23: Rothsay International (WTA 500), Eastbourne, England; Bad Homburg Open (WTA 500), Bad Homburg, Germany
- July 1: The Championships, Wimbledon
Swiatek will be looking to secure her first tour-level grass-court title. The 22-year-old from Poland was a junior Wimbledon champion in 2018. She posted her strongest grass season last year, making the semifinals in Bad Homburg and her first Wimbledon quarterfinal.