2015 Volvo Car Open Main Draw Announced

The preliminary main player draw for the Volvo Car Open is officially complete for the 43rd tournament, April 4 – 12. The world-class player field forming for the Volvo Car Open on Daniel Island is headed up by eight of the top 20 players in the world. Five additional players will join the field via Wild Card entry, to be announced at a later date.

The Volvo Car Open’s 56-player draw is made up of 43 direct entries into the tournament, five wild cards and eight qualifiers.

“The depth in our player field is what we strive for each year,” said Eleanor Adams, Tournament Manager for the Volvo Car Open.  “From top-ranked players like Ekaterina Makarova and our champion Andrea Petkovic, to the next generation of talent, we are certain the diversity of players within the field this year will bring fierce and entertaining competition on the courts.”

Highlights from the Main Draw include:

• 20 countries represented in the international player field
• Eight players in the top 20 in the world
• Four past Volvo Car Open Champions: Andrea Petkovic (2014), Samantha Stosur (2011), Sabine Lisicki (2009) and Jelena Jankovic (2007)
• Nine Americans in the field
• Local Charleston player Shelby Rogers qualifies for the 2015 Volvo Car Open main draw
• Madison Keys, top ranked American player in the field, currently World No. 18 after reaching the Australian Open semifinals

At the top of the Volvo Car Open player field is Ekaterina Makarova. 2015 will mark her first time playing Charleston in five years. She broke into the WTA singles top 10 for the first time in her career in January 2015, stemming from a standout 2014 season that included a singles quarterfinals appearance at Wimbledon, and her first Grand Slam singles semifinal at the US Open.

Current Volvo Car Open champion Andrea Petkvoic had a major comeback during the 2013-2014 season. After her Volvo Car Open win, Petkovic reached her first career Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open. She went on to reach the semifinals in Stanford, before taking home an additional WTA title at Bad Gadstein. Petkovic started the 2015 season with a win in Antwerp in February 2015.

Safarova will play Charleston for her fifth time in 2015. After making the finals in both singles and doubles in 2012, losing to Serena in singles before taking the doubles win, she has gone on to make the Volvo Car Open’s quarterfinals the last two years. Safarova reached an additional four quarterfinals following the 2014 Volvo Car Open, as well as the semifinals at Wimbledon and Moscow. Most recently, she won the title in Doha in February 2015.

Rounding out the top-four in Charleston’s player field is Sara Errani. This year’s tournament will be her third time playing the Volvo Car Open. Errani reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slams in 2014, the French and US Open, as well as the finals in Rome and Paris. Errani won her first title of 2015 in Rio de Janeiro.

Main Draw to Date:

Ekaterina Makarova, Russia
Andrea Petkovic, Germany
Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic
Sara Errani, Italy
Anqelique Kerber, Germany
Madison Keys, USA
Shuai Peng, China
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Czech Republic
Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
Samantha Stosur, Australia
Caroline Garcia, France
Sabine Lisicki, Germany
Zarina Diyas, Kazakhstan
Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania
Casey Dellacqua, Australia
Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, Russia
Mona Barthel, Germany
Sloane Stephens, USA
Heather Watson, United Kingdom
Alison Riske, USA
Madison Brengle, USA
Jarmila Gajdosova, Australia
Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia
Lauren Davis, USA
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia
Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan
Silvia Soler-Espinosa, Spain
Elena Vesnina, Russia
Jana Cepelova, Slovakia
Christina McHale, USA
Alexanda Dulgheru, Romania
Saisai Zheng, China
Shuai Zhang, China
Marina Erakovic, New Zealand
Shelby Rogers, USA
Donna Vekic, Croatia
Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine
Timea Babos, Hungary
Nicole Gibbs, USA
Lara Arruabarrena, Spain
Chanelle Scheepers, South Africa
Taylor Townsend, USA