The US Open Series kicks off next week as the Hologic WTA Tour returns to the North American hard courts. This year, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic boasts its best field in over a decade, as the WTA 500 tournament welcomes five of the tour's Top 10 as well as Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. 

The US Open Series encompasses the summer tennis season in North America, linking nine WTA and ATP Tour events as the tours make their way towards the last Slam of the season in New York. 

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Here's what you need to know about San Jose:

When does the tournament start?

The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic is a WTA 500 hard-court tournament held at the San Jose State University Tennis Complex in California. The tournament has a rich history as a groundbreaking event. Co-founded by Billie Jean King, the tournament was the first event of the historic 1971 women's professional tennis tour, a precursor to the WTA. 

San Jose features a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. The Wilson US Open Regular Duty ball will be used and electronic line-calling will be used on Stadium Court.

Main draw play begins on Monday, Aug.1 at 10:00 a.m. Night sessions will begin at 7:00 p.m.

When are the finals? 

Both finals will be held on Sunday, Aug.7. The Singles final will begin at 2:00 p.m., with the doubles final to follow at 4:00 p.m.

Who are the projected top seeds?

1. Maria Sakkari (WR No.3)
2. Paula Badosa (WR No.4)
3. Ons Jabeur (WR No.5)
4. Aryna Sabalenka (WR No.6)
5. Garbiñe Muguruza (WR No.8)
6. Coco Gauff (WR No.11)
7. Daria Kasatkina (WR No.12)
8. Karolina Pliskova (WR No.15)

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Who are the defending champions?

Danielle Collins took home the title last year, sealing a back-to-back title run from Palermo to San Jose. The American defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-1 to win her second career title. Unfortunately, Collins was forced to withdraw from this year's event due to neck injury.

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In doubles, Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac defeated top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 7-5.

What does the draw look like?

What is the prize money and ranking points on offer?

First round: 1 point/$8,110
Second round: 55 points/$11,260
Quarterfinalist: 100 points/$22,080
Semifinalist: 185 points/$42,010
Finalist: 305 points/$71,960
Champion: 470 points/$116,340

Key Storylines

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is back in action: San Jose will be Rybakina's first tournament since her incredible run to her maiden major title at The Championships. Rybakina made her tournament debut last year and advanced to the quarterfinals. She lost in two tiebreakers to eventual champion Collins.

Ons Jabeur ready to bounce back on hard courts: The Wimbledon finalist has had a few weeks to process being a set away from the title. Now she gets back to business. The World No.5 has made the final or better at five of her last seven tournaments, but that run came exclusively on the natural surfaces. Can she port her success onto hard courts?

Naomi Osaka returns to where it all began: Osaka made her WTA main draw debut at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic when the tournament was held at Stanford University in 2014. Then, the 16-year-old was ranked outside the Top 400 but worked her way through qualifying to make her main draw debut. There, she stunned Samantha Stosur in the first round for her first win on the Hologic WTA Tour. 

This will be Osaka's first appearance at the tournament since it moved to San Jose and her first tournament since Roland Garros.

Coco Gauff makes her tournament debut: The Roland Garros finalist is knocking on the door of a Top 10 debut, currently sitting behind Emma Raducanu at No.11. The 18-year-old sits at No.3 on the Porsche Race to the WTA Finals behind Iga Swiatek and Jabeur. She has made the semifinals or better at two of her last three tournaments.

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The WTA 250 event in Washington D.C. also kicks off on Monday. There are no shortage of storylines at this year's Citi Open, where defending champion Jessica Pegula, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, and two former No.1s in Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka headline the field. 

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This year's field also features Venus Wiliams, who is set to play her first singles event since last year's WTA 250 in Chicago, as well as the return of 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. 

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