From the USTA: (July 25, 2016) With one week left in the USTA Pro Circuit’s women’s US Open Wild Card Challenge, a berth in the 2016 US Open main draw will be decided this week at the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships, a $50,000 event in Lexington, Ky.
The race for the women’s wild card is close, with many players still in contention and 80 points up for grabs in Lexington. 17-year-old Sofia Kenin is currently in first place after winning the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women’s Challenger in Sacramento, Calif., this weekend for her second career USTA Pro Circuit singles title and first $50,000 title. Grace Min, who advanced to the final in Sacramento, is in second place with 49 points, while young American CiCi Bellis is in third place.
The men’s wild card challenge kicked off last week with the Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, a $50,000 Challenger in Binghamton, N.Y. Mitchell Krueger advanced to the final in Binghamton to take the early lead in the men’s race with 48 points. The men’s wild card challenge continues into its second week, also in Lexington.
All matches will be streamed live on www.procircuit.usta.com.
The standings, as of July 25, are as follows:
USTA Player Development will award a US Open main draw wild card to one American man and one American woman who earn the most ATP World Tour and WTA ranking points in a series of USTA Pro Circuit hard-court events this summer. Men’s events include $50,000 Challengers in Binghamton and Lexington, Ky., as well as a $100,000 Challenger in Aptos, Calif. Women’s tournaments include $50,000 events in Stockton, Sacramento, and Lexington.
Ranking points from two out of the three men’s and women’s events will be used and combined to calculate the point total and determine the US Open wild card recipient. If a player competes in more than two events, only his or her two best tournaments will be counted in calculating the point total. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or WTA singles ranking will be awarded the wild card. Only players who have not earned direct acceptance into the US Open are eligible for the wild card.
The USTA first used this US Open wild card format for its 2012 wild cards, won by Steve Johnson and MalloryBurdette, both of whom reached the third round of the US Open. In 2013, Bradley Klahn and Shelby Rogers earned the wild cards, with Klahn winning his first-round match, and in 2014, Nicole Gibbs reached the third round of the US Open (her career-best Grand Slam result), while Wayne Odesnik earned the men’s wild card. Last year, Bjorn Fratangelo made his Grand Slam main draw debut by earning the men’s wild card, while Samantha Crawford competed in the US Open as the women’s wild card. The USTA also utilizes this wild card challenge format for the French Open and Australian Open.
The 2016 US Open main draw will be held Monday, Aug. 29, to Sunday, Sept. 11.
Information on the US Open Wild Card Challenge will be available at www.procircuit.usta.com and on Twitter through @USTAProCircuit.
