American players to compete for French Open wild card

French Open wild cards are at stake for American players who will be competing in the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge.

The challenge, which utilizes pro tournaments both on the USTA Pro Circuit and throughout the world to award wild cards into the French Open, will be held over the next four weeks, kicking off Monday and concluding the week of April 30.
    
For the men’s wild card challenge, USTA Player Development will consider all American results worldwide for the wild card. Both qualifying and main-draw points at USTA Pro Circuit and international ATP World Tour and Challenger tournaments on any professional outdoor clay surface (Har-Tru or red) with prize money of $50,000 and above will be factored into the challenge standings.

The women’s wild card challenge will still consist of results earned in the main draw at four USTA Pro Circuit clay-court events over the next four weeks in the United States.
 
In the challenge, the American man and American woman who earn the most ATP World Tour and WTA ranking points from their best two results during the four-week time period will earn main-draw wild cards into the French Open. The challenge is open only to Americans who did not earn direct entry into the French Open. In case of a tie, the player with the best ATP or best WTA singles ranking on Monday, May 7, will be awarded the wild card.

 
This year's men's challenge will consist of the following events:

• Week of April 9: Houston ATP 250, Marrakech ATP 250, Mexico City $100,000, Barletta €43,000
• Week of April 16: Monte Carlo Masters ATP 1000, Sarasota, Fla. $100,000, Tunis $75,000
• Week of April 23: Barcelona ATP 500, Budapest ATP 250, Anning $150,000, Tallahassee $75,000, Francavilla €43,000
• Week of April 30: Munich ATP 250, Estoril ATP 250, Istanbul ATP 250, Savannah, Ga. $75,000, Ostrava €64,000

The women's challenge will include the following USTA Pro Circuit tournaments:
 

• Week of April 9: Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. $60,000
• Week of April 16: Dothan, Ala. $80,000
• Week of April 23: Charlottesville, Va. $80,000
• Week of April 30: Charleston, S.C. $80,000
  

All USTA Pro Circuit tournaments will be streamed live here.

This is the seventh consecutive year the USTA has used a wild card challenge format to award French Open wild cards for American players. The USTA first used the challenge for its 2012 French Open wild cards, won by Melanie Oudin and Brian Baker, who each advanced to the second round at that year’s French Open and subsequently broke into the Top 100. In 2013, Alex Kuznetsov and Shelby Rogers earned the wild cards, with Rogers winning her first-ever Grand Slam singles match at the French Open.
 
In 2014, young American Taylor Townsend and veteran Robby Ginepri received the wild cards, with Townsend becoming a top storyline by reaching the third round in Paris. In 2015, rising stars Frances Tiafoe and Louisa Chirico secured the wild cards. In 2016, Townsend and Bjorn Fratangelo earned the wild cards, with both players winning their first-round matches.

Last year, Tennys Sandgren and Amanda Anisimova (pictured) earned the wild cards, with Anisimova being the youngest player to compete in the Roland Garros main draw since Alize Cornet in 2005 at age 15. After their results in 2017 and so far in 2018, Sandgren and Anisimova have burst onto the tennis scene, with Sandgren reaching the quarterfinals of the 2018 Australian Open and Anisimova currently ranked a career-high No. 130 in the world after reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells.

The USTA and the French Tennis Federation have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2018 French Open and US Open are exchanged.
 
The 2018 French Open main draw will be held Sunday, May 27, to Sunday, June 10.