The Pilot Penn is hoping to write the names of Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova to its field already filled with notable names. Fifteen of the top 20-ranked women in the world have committed to competing in the New Haven, Connecticut event and the tournament is pursuing fan favorites Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova to fill its wild card spots.
Second-ranked Venus Williams, Jelena Dokic, Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo, Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Daja Bedanova are among the prominent players who have committed to the tournament , which will be staged August 16th-24th at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.
Tournament director Anne Worcester has contacted representatives for both Seles and Kournikova to offer the players wild cards into the draw. Both players are reportedly considering competing at the Pilot Pen, but their participation depends upon their results at the Rogers AT&T Canada Cup, scheduled for August 12-18th in Montreal. Should either player make an early-round exit in Montreal it’s likely they would enter the Pilot Pen as preparation for the US Open, however if either player advances deep into the Montreal draw it reduces the likelihood of a New Haven appearance.
A quarterfinalist at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California last week, Kournikova collides with American Alexandra Stevenson in tonight’s featured first-round match on stadium court at the Acura Classic in San Diego, California. The fourth-ranked Seles, who was upset by Lisa Raymond in Stanford last week, withdrew from the Acura Classic due to an inflammation in the arch of her right foot.