By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 16, 2020
Former US Open champions Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens will tune up for Flushing Meadows playing the inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Serena Williams will hit the Bluegrass State before going for the Grand Slam gold standard.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens are set to headline the inaugural Top Seed Open starting August 10th in Lexington, Kentucky.
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The Top Seed Open, featuring a 32-player singles draw, is set for August 10-16th.
The world No. 9 has posted an 8-2 record this season, including winning her 73rd career title in Auckland last January.
Williams, who fell in the Australian Open third round to Wang Qiang in January, has been training on the same Laykold hard court that will be the new US Open surface next month.
The 38-year-old Williams is aiming to capture her 24th major champion and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record at the US Open, which is scheduled to start on August 31st.
Though US Open courts are resurfaced every year before the tournament, this marks the first time in 42 years the Flushing Meadows major is changing surface brands.
“I can confirm the surface provided by Laykold for the 2020 US Open and Western & Southern Open was shipped to Serena’s house,” US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster told the media last month. “She’s got a new court in her backyard. So she has been training.
“She will be playing and she’s excited to come back. Like all athletes they’ll make their decision at a time that make sense to them.”