The USTA has officially announced the recipients of singles main-draw wildcards for the upcoming 2023 US Open tennis tournament. Among the notable players who will be receiving wildcards are Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, and a group of talented American players including Ashlyn Krueger, Robin Montgomery, Kayla Day, and Clervie Ngounoue. This privilege extends to international players as well, with France’s Fiona Ferro and Australia’s Storm Hunter also receiving wildcards due to reciprocal agreements.
The 2023 US Open is scheduled to take place from August 28th to September 10th at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center situated in Flushing, New York.
Venus Williams, at the age of 43, boasts an impressive record of seven Grand Slam singles titles, including consecutive victories at the US Open in 2000 and 2001. She recently made a triumphant return to the court after a nearly six-month absence due to injury, securing her first Top 20 win since 2019 during the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati this week.
Caroline Wozniacki is a two-time US Open finalist. The former world No.1 and the 2018 Australian Open champion made her competitive comeback in tennis this summer. After retiring post the 2020 Australian Open to start a family, the 33-year-old Wozniacki and her spouse, former NBA player David Lee, are now parents to a two-year-old daughter named Olivia and an eight-month-old son named James. Wozniacki marked her return by clinching a victory in her first match at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal last week.
Ashlyn Krueger, a 19-year-old emerging talent, is set to make her third consecutive appearance in the main draw of the US Open. She initially secured a wildcard in 2021 by virtue of her victory in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s singles championship and subsequently qualified last year. Krueger achieved a significant milestone in her career by winning the WTA 125 title in Gaiba, Italy, in June. This accomplishment propelled her to a career-best ranking of No.108, while she’s currently positioned at No.121.
Robin Montgomery, 18, reached a personal peak in her rankings by achieving No.143 last month, and she currently holds the No.150 position. This will mark only her second appearance in a Grand Slam main draw after receiving a wildcard for the 2020 US Open at the age of 16. She swept the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the 2021 US Open, winning the doubles crown with Krueger. She won the biggest singles title of her career in May at an ITF World Tennis Tour W60 event in France.
Kayla Day, aged 23 and currently holding the No.96 rank, earned her wildcard through victory in the US Open Wildcard Challenge. Having previously been a junior world No.1 and clinched the 2016 US Open girls’ singles title, Day experienced a career resurgence over the last year and a half. This culminated in her achieving a career-best rank of No.94 last month. Her recent accomplishments include qualifying for and reaching the third round of the French Open this year, marking her best Grand Slam performance to date. Additionally, she has secured two ITF World Tennis Tour W100 titles in the current season.
Clervie Ngounoue, a 17-year-old from Washington, D.C., who currently resides in Orlando and trains at the USTA National Campus, earned her wildcard by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships on Sunday. Her achievements in the summer include triumphing in the girls’ singles category at Wimbledon, which marked her third junior Grand Slam title (preceded by the 2023 French Open doubles and the 2022 Australian Open doubles). Ngounoue is poised to make her debut in the Grand Slam singles main draw.
France’s Fiona Ferro, 26, has been ranked as high as No.39 and owns two WTA titles. She earned her wildcard based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and FFT where wild cards between the US Open and Roland Garros are exchanged.
Storm Hunter, a 29-year-old Australian athlete, holds the No.165 singles ranking and the No.4 doubles ranking. She’s the reigning US Open mixed doubles champion and earlier this year earned her first Grand Slam singles victory at the French Open. She earned her wildcard based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and Tennis Australia where wildcards between the US Open and Australian Open are exchanged.
The USTA also announced the American women receiving wildcards into the US Open Qualifying tournament, held August 22-25 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:
Liv Hovde, 17, the 2021 Wimbledon girls’ singles champion; Katrina Scott, 19, who reached the second round of the 2020 US Open as a 16-year-old; Makenna Jones, 25, a former All-American at North Carolina who has won nine (2 singles, 7 doubles) ITF World Tennis Tour titles this year; McCartney Kessler, 24, a former All-American at Florida; Mary Stoiana, 20, a rising junior at Texas A&M who was named the 2023 SEC Player of the Year; Valerie Glozman, 16, the No.1-ranked 18-and-under player in the USTA junior rankings; Fiona Crawley, 21, a rising senior at North Carolina who won the 2023 NCAA doubles title and was named the 2023 ITA National Player of the Year; Chloe Beck, 21, the 2019 French Open girls’ doubles champion and All-American at Duke; and Katherine Hui, 18, the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s singles runner-up.
