At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Caty McNally got a text.
It was a message from her agent asking if she wanted to accept a wild card invitation to the Western & Southern Open, the tournament she'd been attending since she was a little girl growing up in Madeira. McNally grinned thinking back to the afternoon.
"Of course," she replied.
“I wasn’t expecting it but you never know. I played it the past two years," McNally told the Enquirer. "I was hoping to get a another opportunity to play here and just grateful that they’re giving me the wild card.”
More: Caty McNally awarded wild card to Western & Southern Open
McNally's wild card was announced to the public during the Western & Southern Open's "First Look" event Wednesday evening at the rooftop of the Lytle Park Hotel. The night previewed the Aug. 14-22 tournament which will take place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.
Tennis personality Blair Henley started the night off with an anecdote of where she was just one year ago.
“A year ago I was in New York in the bubble at the Western & Southern Open and with all due respect to Flushing Meadows, I cannot say how happy I am to be here in Cincinnati seeing all of you in the flesh, not over Zoom, to celebrate the fact that we are about to welcome the best players in the world, to play in front of the best fans in the world," Henley said, prompting a cheers.
The player field does in fact feature both No. 1 ranked players in the world in Ashleigh Barty and Novak Djokovic.
Rounding out the field are 11 other previous Western & Southern Open champions. One of these includes two-time champion Serena Williams who Western & Southern chairman, president and CEO John Barrett said he was excited to see.
More: Western & Southern Open tennis: Player field includes Serena Williams
“We probably have all three of the three greatest players that have ever played, here...and maybe the last time, who knows," Barrett said. “When someone writes the history of tennis they’ll have the big three on the men’s side and Serena on the women’s side, forever. Always among the best.”
Also in the field is 17-year-old Cori "Coco" Gauff who McNally said she is excited to show around her home city.
"She’s one of my best friends and she’s never been to Cincinnati before so I can’t wait to give her all the good spots. Personally I’m a huge fan of Skyline Chili, Graeter's, not the healthiest places but I think if you come to Cincinnati you have to go to those places. It's what we’re known for," McNally said. "It’s such a great city. It has a really great homey feel to it and any questions that anybody has I’m willing to answer.”
The tournament plans on welcoming a full capacity crowd this year. Western & Southern COO Katie Haas spoke to the COVID-19 protocols that will be enforced at the event.
“For the general public and a fan it’s pretty much going to be pretty close to 2019 when they come. Just as fun, just as engaging," Haas said. "In terms of the players they’re still going to be in a segregated environment that doesn’t allow a lot of fan interaction and that’s because of the tour protocols and requirements that we have to do.”
Haas said players will be tested regularly regardless of vaccination status. Interactions between fans and athletes will be limited.
However, the theme of the night was centered around how Henley started it – with a gratefulness to be back home.
“I’m so happy for all of greater Cincinnati that this world class event is coming back and these players from all over the world, these huge stars…are coming back to Cincinnati," Haas said.
