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NEWPORT, R.I. — Just after Wimbledon and before the highly anticipated 2012 Olympic Games, some of the world’s best tennis players will head to Newport, Rhode Island for the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, the only ATP World Tour event played on grass courts in North America. The Newport tournament hosts a player field of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams, and included in this summer’s very strong field will be 17 players who are bound for the Olympics, including 13 singles players and 2 doubles teams. In all, Olympic athletes from 10 nations are committed to play Newport, including more than half of Team USA. The top eight singles players in the draw are all ranked within the world top 60 on the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings, and all eight have been selected to compete on behalf of their nation in the Olympic games.

The Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships will be played July 9 – 15, 2012 on the historic grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, located in Newport, R.I.

“Good news for tennis fans in the Northeast — not to worry if you can’t make it to London 2012, because many of the top tennis Olympians will be coming to Newport to offer up a great preview of the action,” said Tournament Director Mark Stenning. “We look forward to welcoming a large part of Team USA, with our defending champion John Isner, the Bryan brothers, and Donald Young committed to play. In addition to John, there are five other players in our field who are the No. 1 ranked players for their nations and are Olympic bound. The Newport player field is incredibly strong this year, and we anticipate sharing a great week of world-class tennis with the fans.”

Team USA is the largest contingent that will be represented at this year’s Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. John Isner, the No. 1 American and current world No. 11 ranked player, will return to defend his title at Newport. Isner has been selected to compete in both singles and doubles at the Olympics, where he’ll be paired with Andy Roddick for doubles. Also returning to Newport this year will be Donald Young, current world No. 51 and a member of Team USA. In doubles competition, the highly popular and successful pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan will make their first appearance in Newport since 2002, when they won the title. Together the identical twin brothers have won a record-breaking 78 titles, including 11 Grand Slam tournament titles.

Canada, Japan, and Belgium are also well represented in the Newport player field, with two Olympic athletes from each nation in the field.

Current world No. 20 Kei Nishikori and world No. 58 Go Soeda, the No. 1 and 2 Japanese players, respectively, will both compete in Newport.

Also committed to Newport are world No. 22 Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, the No. 1 and 2 Canadian players. Raonic, a rising star in the tennis world, has captured three ATP World Tour titles in his brief career, and has notched wins against some of the biggest players in tennis, including Andy Murray and Mardy Fish. He’s also been known to take Roger Federer and Andy Roddick to fierce three-set battles on more than one occasion.

From the Belgian Olympic team, Olivier Rochus returns to Newport again this summer, where he was the runner up in 2011 and 2010, and a semifinalist in 2009. Additionally, world No. 70 David Goffin, who made it to the Round of 16 at the French Open and upset world No. 28, Bernard Tomic at Wimbledon this week, will also play in Newport.

Australian tennis great Lleyton Hewitt is among the Olympians headlining Newport this summer. The former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion will be making his third appearance as part of Australia’s Olympic team. Hewitt has been integral to the nation’s international competition for more than a decade. He was a part of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003 and reached the final in 2000 and 2001.

Other Olympians scheduled to compete in Newport include Uzbekistan’s No. 1 and world No. 43 Denis Istomin, Alex Bogomolov, Jr. of Russia, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, and the British doubles pairing of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins.

The Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is hosted on the beautiful grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which have hosted all the great legends of tennis dating back to 1881, when the facility hosted the first U.S. Nationals – the event that evolved to today’s US Open. Steeped in rich history, the fan friendly venue is often noted as one of the best places on the ATP World Tour to get close to the action. Every seat offers a great view, and it is not uncommon to see players stopping for autographs and chatting with fans.

Tickets for all sessions are now available. For additional information and to order tickets, please call the Tournament Office at 401-849-6053 or visit tennisfame.com.