US Open WC Challenge adds summer intrigue

For the eighth straight year, the US Open Wild Card Challenge will award one American man and woman a main-draw wild card into the Flushing Meadows field.

Americans who miss the direct-entry cutoff for the year’s final Grand Slam will have the opportunity to turn a strong hard-court summer into a spot among the 128 men and women competing in the main event in New York. The wild cards will go to the players with the highest cumulative total of ATP and WTA singles ranking points earned from their best three results during the summer swing.

The challenge spans five weeks, from July 8 through the week of Aug. 5, with the final week including the Rogers Cup, an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier event.

Eligible events for the men’s challenge include three US Open Series events: the BB&T Atlanta Open, the Citi Open and the Rogers Cup. The women’s challenge includes the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, as well as the Citi Open and Rogers Cup.

Steve Johnson (2012) and Sofia Kenin (2016, 2017) are the most notable previous winners of the challenge, with both players reaching the third round as US Open wild cards. Mallory Burdette (2012) and Nicole Gibbs (2014) have also reached Round 3 as challenge winners.

Johnson, currently the ATP’s No. 69-ranked man, went on to reach a career high of No. 21 four years after winning the challenge. The 20-year-old Kenin, a rising star who just hit a career high of No. 28 with her WTA title in Mallorca, Spain, earned her first two Grand Slam appearances via the challenge.

Last year's winners were Bradley Klahn and Asia Muhammad. At No. 89 in the latest ATP rankings, Klahn is in line for direct entry this year. It would be his sixth US Open main-draw appearance. Muhammad, who has dropped to No. 213 in the WTA singles ranks, will have her sights set on entering the main draw as a repeat women's challenge winner. It would be her third US Open (and Grand Slam) main-draw appearance, though she is still seeking her first win. Muhammad reached the US Open doubles quarterfinals as a wild card in 2016, teaming with Taylor Townsend.

The US Open main draw will be held Aug. 26-Sept. 8.

For full details on the challenge, including a complete list of eligible events, visit our US Open Wild Card Challenge homepage.