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The 15th annual Winston-Salem Open announces list of competitors

The Winston Salem Open Tennis Tournament
Gwen Fletcher
/
Red Cardinal Studio
The Winston-Salem Open Tennis Tournament on Friday, August 22, 2025.

The Winston-Salem Open professional men’s tennis tournament has announced this year’s players.

As the final tune-up event before the U.S. Open in New York, the tournament draws some of the world’s best players to Camel City. They’ll compete for ranking points and nearly $800,000 in total prize money. Topping the list of entrants is world number 23 Luciano Darderi, whose 2026 season includes a win over World No. 2 Alexander Zverev at the Italian Open.

This year’s lineup also features past winners Lorenzo Sonego and Sebastian Baez, and rising stars like Britain’s Arthur Fery. Three weeks ago, ranked 114 in the world, he had a breakthrough run to the Wimbledon semifinals, jumping to number 37.

Winston-Salem Open Tournament Director Jeff Ryan says he also had a plug for the Piedmont.

"Arthur was a nice story this year, and took the courts by storm," he says. "And he, much to my surprise, but also delight, stepped into the press room as is typical after an event, and basically told the world he’s coming to Winston-Salem." 

Ryan says they’ve started building up the 3,500-seat main stadium. He adds that this year, there will be additional seating and upgrades on some of the surrounding courts.

The Winston-Salem Open will run from August 22-29.

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.