The USTA announced that Americans JC Aragone and Mitchell Krueger will headline the list of competitors for the inaugural Orlando Open, a USTA Pro Circuit ATP Challenger event, which will be held at the USTA National Campus, from Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

The tournament is the first USTA Pro Circuit ATP Challenger event of the 2019 season and will be the highest level of tennis on display to date at the USTA National Campus, with a prize-money pool of more than $54,000. The campus has previously hosted a number of $15,000- and $25,000-level USTA Pro Circuit events. The Orlando Open is a hard-court tournament and will be played at the campus’ 12-court Collegiate Center.

Aragone (23, Yorba Linda, Calif.) is a three-time national champion at the University of Virginia, who utilized a 2017 US Open qualifying wild card to reach his first career Grand Slam main draw. Krueger (24, Fort Worth, Texas) made his Grand Slam debut at the 2018 US Open and is an Orlando resident who trains at the USTA National Campus.

They will be joined by fellow Americans Evan King (26, Chicago), Kevin King (27, Atlanta), Dennis Novikov (25, San Jose, Calif.), and Alexander Sarkissian (28, Glendale, Calif.) in the main draw. Illya Marchenko, a 31-year-old from Ukraine and Darian King, a 26-year-old from Barbados, are slated to be the tournament’s top two seeds as of this week’s ATP Rankings.

An additional five wild cards will be announced at a later date.

The main draw begins on Monday, Dec. 31, and concludes with the doubles final on Saturday, Jan. 5, followed by the singles final on Sunday, Jan. 6.

Play begins daily at 10 a.m. Admission to the Orlando Open is free.

ABOUT THE USTA PRO CIRCUIT:

With more than 100 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $15,000 to upwards of $160,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world and the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players. Now in its 40th year, the USTA Pro Circuit has been a launching pad for many of today’s top pros, including Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and Garbiñe Muguruza. Follow the USTA Pro Circuit at #USTAProCircuit on social media and at www.procircuit.usta.com.