Court of Champions at the 2019 US Open.
Photo by Adam Glanzman/USTA
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has announced the wildcard recipients for the women’s and men’s singles competitions at the upcoming US Open, including former champions Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.
Thiem and Wawrinka have received wildcards for the men’s draw alongside Americans Chris Eubanks, Zachary Svajda, Learner Tien and Matthew Forbes.
Frenchman Alexandre Muller and Australian Tristan Schoolkate have also received wildcards for the men’s draw as part of mutual agreements with the French Open and the Australian Open.
In the women’s competition, Osaka and Andreescu are joined by Americans McCartney Kessler, Amanda Anisimova, Alexa Noel and Iva Jovic, all of whom have received wildcards for the 2024 tournament.
Frenchwoman Chloe Paquet and Australian Taylah Preston have also received wildcards as part of mutual agreements.
The main draw of the US Open begins on Monday, August 26, with Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff entering the tournament as defending champions in the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.
Wawrinka, who beat Djokovic in four sets in the 2016 final, has won three men’s Grand Slams and was once ranked No. 3 in the world. The 39-year-old is currently ranked No. 144 in the world and will make his 72nd Grand Slam main draw appearance at the upcoming US Open.
Thiem, who won the US Open in 2020, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2024 season after battling a persistent wrist injury for the past three years. The 30-year-old also reached world number 3 but has plummeted down the rankings and is currently ranked 211th in the world.
Eubanks, on the other hand, is currently ranked 123rd after reaching his highest career ranking of 29th last season when he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and won his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca.
In the women’s singles, Osaka is the outstanding wildcard recipient, having won four Grand Slam titles, including the 2018 and 2020 US Open.
The 26-year-old, a former world No. 1, returned to the tennis court this year after the birth of her daughter. Osaka recently broke into the WTA top 100 for the first time since her return.
Andreescu also returned to the tennis court earlier this year after missing nine months with a back injury. The 24-year-old reached the third round of the French Open in her first tournament of the year before reaching her first WTA final in more than two years in June when she reached the playoff of the 2024 Libéma Open in the Netherlands, defeating Osaka.
Kessler, a former All-American at the University of Florida, is currently ranked 100 in the world, a career-high ranking, and reached the second round of the 2024 Australian Open in her Grand Slam main draw debut.
Jovic, who is only 16 years old, received a wildcard after winning the USTA Girls’ National Championships in 18. She is currently ranked fifth in the ITF junior world rankings and has won the girls’ doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.
The USTA also announced the American men and women who will receive a wildcard for the US Open qualifying tournament, which will be held from August 19-22 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.
In the men’s qualifying competition, three-time singles finalist Brandon Holt, 2023 NCAA singles champion Ethan Quinn, Stanford All-American Nishesh Basavareddy and 2024 French Open singles champion Kaylan Bigun are among the nine players receiving a wildcard.
Eliot Spizzirri, 22, Aidan Mayo, 21, Bruno Kuzuhara, 20, Michael Zheng, 20, and Jack Kennedy, 16, have also received wildcards for the men’s qualifying events.
In the women’s competition, former junior world number one Clervie Ngounoue (18), 18-year-old 2022 Wimbledon girls’ singles champion Liv Hovde, and 16-year-old Tyla Grant, who has won three Grand Slam titles in girls’ doubles, received wildcards for the qualifying tournament.
Akasha Urhobo, 17, Sophie Chang, 27, Mary Stoiana, 22, Kristina Penickova, 14, Julieta Pareja, 15, and Valerie Glozman, 17, also received wildcards for the qualifying competition.