Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin are among eight wildcard recipients for direct entry into the women’s singles main draw of the 2022 US Open.
Six American players get wildcards
Venus Williams, 42, has recently made a comeback at the Citi Open and then the National Bank Open after missing nearly a year due to injury. The 2000 and 2001 US Open winner last played in New York two years ago.
Sofia Kenin, currently ranked No.412 in singles, clinched the No.4 ranking less than two and a half years ago. The 2020 Australian Open champion, the most recent American to win a Grand Slam singles title, has recently returned from an extended injury hiatus. The last US Open she played was in 2020.
Coco Vandeweghe, 30, has been ranked as high as world No.9 and won her first singles title in more than six years last week at the WTA 125 event in Concord, Mass. She missed the better part of two full years due to various injuries and health issues, returning to the tour full-time in 2021 and is currently ranked No.125. She won the US Open women’s doubles title in 2018.
Elizabeth Mandlik, 21, is ranked a career-best No.143 and earned her wildcard by winning the US Open Wildcard Challenge. She is the daughter of former US Open champion Hana Mandlikova, is 35-16 in singles this year and qualified and reached the second round at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic WTA 500 in San Jose.
Peyton Stearns, 20, earned the wildcard traditionally awarded to an American NCAA singles champion by winning the title as a sophomore at the University of Texas in May. She also helped lead the Longhorns to back-to-back NCAA team national championships. She won her first professional singles title at a USTA Pro Circuit W25 event in Sumter, S.C., last year and holds a current singles ranking of No.356.
Eleana Yu, a 17-year-old from Mason, Ohio, earned her wildcard by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships on Sunday. She has spent the majority of the past year competing in USTA Pro Circuit and ITF World Tennis Tour events, has twice appeared in qualifying at a WTA Tour event and earned her best professional result when she reached the quarterfinals at a USTA Pro Circuit W25 event in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this year.
One French and one Australian player receive wildcards
France’s Harmony Tan is ranked No.110 and notably reached the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, after beating Serena Williams in a first-round thriller. The 24-year-old earned this wildcard based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and FFT where wildcards between the US Open and Roland Garros are exchanged.
Australia’s Jaimee Fourlis is ranked No.150 and qualified for the Wimbledon main draw earlier this summer. The 22-year-old earned this wildcard based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and Tennis Australia where wildcards between the US Open and Australian Open are exchanged.
