By Karen Ronney

It’s a Kids Free Weekend at the San Diego Open WTA 500 on Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. That means kids are the priority and they get Free Admission to see some of the world’s best women’s players. They must be accompanied by an adult, who can purchase a $20 ticket for the ultimate family experience. This tournament is proudly sponsored by the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation.

This weekend brings amazing tennis in the qualifying rounds where the 24-player draw will compete for six spots in the main draw. The tournament will offer $757,000 in prize money for the 32-player main singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. Main Draw matches begin Monday, October 10 and concluding with the singles and doubles final on Sunday, October 16.The San Diego Open WTA 500 Tournament marks the return of the WTA to San Diego County, which has a rich history of hosting top-level women’s tennis events dating back to 1971. This year, the tournament features reigning US Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland headlines the Hologic WTA Tour event along with seven of the Top 10 and 16 of the Top 20 players in women’s professional tennis. The seeds include:  No 1. Iga Swiatek (Pol), No 2. Anett Kontaveit (Est). No. 3 Paula Badosa (Esp), No. 4 Sofia Kenin (USA), No. 5 Jessica Pegula (USA),No. 6 Aryna Sabalekna, No. 7 Coco Gauff (USA), No. 8 Caroline Garcia (Fra), No. 9 Daria Kasatkina, No 10 Garbine Muguruza (Esp), No. 11 Veronika Kudermetova, No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko (Lat), No. 13 Danielle Collins (USA), No. 14 Madison Keys (USA), No. 15 Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra), No. 16 Petra Kvitova (Cze) and No. 17 Karolina Pliskova (Cze).

Wildcard entries have been given to American Sloane Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open Singles Championship and was a singles finalist at the 2018 French Open.  She is currently ranked No. 50 in the world. Additionally, Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist, has been accepted into the main draw, and the 2021 NCAA Singles Champion Emma Navarro was awarded a wildcard entry.

In addition to watching great tennis up close, kids and their families can get photos and autographs, and explore the fan village. It’s also great fun to catch the pros during their warm up sessions on the side courts.

“This is the complete experience for kids,” said Linda Milan, the Executive Director of the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation. “They are almost court side watching the best women’s players in the world. They can get autographs, explore the Fan Village and get inspired to play tennis. We are proud to offer this experience to the So Cal tennis community.”

Tickets are available at the gate and online at the tournament website at:  https://barnessdopen.com/tickets. Onsite parking is limited so here are some options:

  • Off-site parking and shuttle: $20 (advanced purchase) and $25 at the lot
  • Shuttle passes can be purchased for $20 in advance at SeatGeek or $25 at the South Shores lot entrance.
  • Shuttle service runs every 30 minutes between Barnes Tennis Center and South Shores from one hour prior to every session until 30 minutes after the last session.

Complete tournament information can be found at www.barnessdopen.com. For tickets during the rest of the tournaments go to seatgeek.com. For more information about the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation, CLICK HERE.

Special thanks to Fred J. Sidhu, who contributed to this report.  He is the Media Director for JFS Communications.

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About Southern California Tennis Association Foundation – Founded in 1986, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is the charitable arm of USTA Southern California.  The Foundation’s mission is to “Change lives and build communities through tennis.” Since 2020, the SCTA Foundation has had a community impact of giving over $600,000 in tennis grants and tennis scholarships to deserving youth, adults, tennis organizations, tennis facilities and tennis programs to make tennis an equal opportunity sport, accessible to all, regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, or economic background. Visit us on Social Media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about the SCTA Foundation go to: www.sctafoundation.org.  To donate go to: sctafoundation.org/donate/.