Iga Swiatek set to begin grass-court season in Berlin

World No.1 Iga Swiatek is set to kick off her grass-court season at the Berlin Ladies Open, a WTA 500 event held at the Steffi Graf Stadium from June 15 to 23.

The tournament has also confirmed the participation of No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and No.3 Coco Gauff, with expectations of having nine of the Top 10 players on the Hologic WTA Tour.

Additionally, former No.1s Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka are scheduled to compete.

“We have a field of starters that is normally only found at Grand Slam tournaments,” said tournament director Barbara Rittner.

The Berlin Ladies Open is the first WTA 500 tournament of the grass-court season, featuring a 32-player singles draw with four byes, and a 16-team doubles draw.

This tournament is followed by the second and third WTA 500 events of the grass season, the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, England, and the Bad Homburg Open in Germany. All these events lead up to the third Grand Slam of the season, Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.

2024 Grass Calendar:

• June 10: Libema Open (WTA 250), s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands; Rothesay Open (WTA 250), Nottingham, England
• June 17: Berlin Ladies Open (WTA 500), Berlin, Germany; Rothesay Classic (WTA 250), Birmingham, England
• June 23: Rothesay International (WTA 500), Eastbourne, England; Bad Homburg Open (WTA 500), Bad Homburg, Germany
• July 1: The Championships, Wimbledon

Swiatek will aim to secure her first tour-level grass-court title. The 22-year-old from Poland, who was the junior Wimbledon champion in 2018, had her strongest grass season last year, reaching the semifinals in Bad Homburg and her first Wimbledon quarterfinal.