Dementieva, who will be making her ninth trip to New Haven, reached the semifinals of the French Open this year, but was forced to retire, due to a calf injury, in her semifinal match with eventual champion Francesca Schiavone, who will also be in the field at the Pilot Pen. The Russian has had a strong year winning tournaments at Sydney, where she defeated World No. 1 Serena Williams in the final, and Paris, and also reaching the finals at Kuala Lumpur. She has been a fixture in the top ten for the past eight seasons, winning 16 titles on Tour, including the Olympics in 2008 at Beijing, and reaching the finals of multiple grand slams including the French and US Opens.
“I am excited to be healthy again, and look forward to getting back to the Pilot Pen,” said Dementieva. “I have always enjoyed playing in New Haven, and hope this is the year I can add a Pilot Pen title to my list of accomplishments. The fan support is always fantastic, and it provides a great opportunity to build confidence heading into the US Open.”
She joins a host of international stars in the women’s field including two-time defending Pilot Pen champion Caroline Wozniacki (World No. 4), Schiavone (World No. 8), Flavia Pennetta (World No. 13), Marion Bartoli (World No. 14), Yanina Wickmayer (World No. 17), Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (World No. 22) and Daniela Hantuchova (World No. 25).
On the men’s side, Americans Sam Querrey (World No. 20) and Mardy Fish (World No. 35) lead a field of rising stars and veterans. Querrey has won three times this year (Memphis, Belgrade and London), while Fish is red-hot, winning his last ten matches and capturing titles at Newport and just last weekend in Atlanta, where he defeated top ranked Americans Andy Roddick and John Isner. He is coming back from an injury-marred 2009 season that sent his ranking tumbling outside of the Top 100 earlier this year. He has catapulted up the rankings this summer, climbing more than 70 ranking places to get back in the top 35. In addition to these two players, the field will also include young Brazilian star Thomaz Bellucci (World No. 21) and former top ten stars Marcos Baghdatis (World No. 26) and Richard Gasquet (World No. 47).
“Adding Elena Dementieva, a perennial top ten player who has been so loyal to the Pilot Pen over the years, is terrific for the event and for our fans,” said Worcester. “Over the next four weeks we will continue to strengthen both the men's and women's player fields with seven more wildcards. Fans are guaranteed to see world-class tennis in an up-close-and-personal atmosphere and at affordable prices, which makes the tournament a great value.”
The Pilot Pen still has four men’s and three women’s main draw wildcards to distribute and there are four spots in both main draws for advancing qualifiers.
For tickets, how to become a volunteer, or more information about the tournament, please call the Pilot Pen Tennis Box Office, 888/99-PILOT, 203/776-7331, or log on to www.pilotpentennis.com.
About Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale
Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale, an Olympus US Open Series event on the ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, will be held August 20-28, 2010 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale and feature a number of international tennis stars. The 2009 Pilot Pen, whose champions are Caroline Wozniacki and Fernando Verdasco, drew nearly 80,000 spectators and was televised nationally for 16 hours on ESPN2 and CBS Sports. An economic impact study conducted in 2008 showed that the event generated an estimated total gross economic impact on the New Haven regional economy of more than $26 million.
About the Olympus US Open Series
The Olympus US Open Series brings together the 10 summer tournaments in North America, three television networks, tennis’ sanctioning bodies and top corporate sponsors during the summer tennis season. In 2009 the Series continued its enhancements to the sport, including more national TV hours, live back-to-back Finals every weekend, bonus prize money at the US Open, and a significant national marketing campaign.