Tennis Stage Set For Start of 2021 as Antalya and Delray Beach Reveal Player Entry Lists

By Ricky Dimon


The first entry lists of the upcoming tennis season–for tournaments in Antalya and Delray Beach–were announced on Tuesday. Among the players scheduled to kick off their campaigns in early January are David Goffin, Fabio Fognini, Milos Raonic, John Isner, and Kei Nishikori.

Set for a Jan. 5 start, the Antalya Open was granted a one-year license on tour as the ATP looks to fill a void left by early-season cancellations in locations such as Auckland, Pune, and New York. There was a grass-court 250 event in Antalya during the summer of 2019, but this one will obviously be played on hard courts as players get ready for the Australian Open–rescheduled from January to February.

The Antalya entry list features Goffin, Fognini, Matteo Berrettini, Alex de Minaur, Borna Coric, Benoit Paire, Jan-Lennard Struff, Jannik Sinner, and Miomir Kecmanovic.

No stranger to the ATP Tour, the Delray Beach Open had previously occupied a February spot on the calendar in between the Australian Open and the Masters 1000 stretch in Indian Wells and Miami. The Aussie Open’s move to February has forced a whole host of 250s to either cancel or postpone their 2021 installments. Delray Beach ended up jumping to the front of the line to open next year’s festivities alongside Antalya.

As usual, Delray Beach consists of an American-heavy lineup: Isner, Sam Querrey, Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul among them. Joining that contingent are Raonic, Nishikori, Cristian Garin, Hubert Hurkacz, Dan Evans, and 2020 Comeback Player of the Year Vasek Pospisil.

Following Antalya and Delray Beach, the main tour will come to another pause–albeit brief–as players descend on Australia to quarantine in advance of the year’s first Grand Slam. Qualifying for the AO will take place in Doha from Jan. 10-13, giving victorious qualifiers enough time to join the Melbourne quarantine. (ATP ••• WTA will play in Dubai ) 

A pair of 250s in Melbourne and the ATP Cup–also in Melbourne–will precede the Australian Open during the first week of February.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.