The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that 97 of the world’s top 100 female tennis players received direct entry into the 2011 US Open which will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York from August 29 to September 11.
Two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters and fellow 2011 Grand Slam champions Li Na (French Open) and Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon) lead the women’s singles field. Former US champions Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams are also in the field. Serena Williams, currently ranked outside of the world’s top 100, will avail of her special ranking to gain entry into the field. According to reports, she could gain direct entry up to eight tournaments by utilizing her special ranking (no. 1 prior to taking nearly a year break from tour due to injury).
The three players in the world’s top 100 that will miss the US Open are Russia’s Dinara Safina, Timea Bacsinszky and Alisa Kleybanova (currently undergoing medical treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma).
