ORLANDO, Fla., April 29, 2024
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran clinched a main draw singles wild card into the upcoming French Open by finishing first in the men’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge.
The 26-year-old former UC Santa Barbara all-American earned 63 Challenge points from a run through qualifying to the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 in Marrakech earlier this month and reached the quarterfinals of a Challenger 75 in Rome, Italy, last week to outlast a late challenge from Mitchell Krueger.
Moreno de Alboran qualified for the 2023 US Open to make his first Grand Slam singles main draw appearance. This would mark his Roland Garros main draw debut.
The women’s side of the Challenge will be decided this week. Leader Sachia Vickery can add to her point total while competing at a WTA 125 in France, alongside Katie Volynets, with a number of challengers also competing at the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Bonita Springs, Fla.
The full standings are below, along with each player’s current ranking in parenthesis. Note that points from Madrid are included, even though they’re not officially awarded and the rankings are not officially updated until next Monday, after the tournament’s conclusion:
Men’s Standings — Final
Women’s Standings — One Week Remaining
1. Sachia Vickery (129) — 110
2. Robin Montgomery (183) — 83
3. Louisa Chirico (283) — 76
4. Shelby Rogers (352) — 67
5. Hailey Baptiste (110) — 60
6. Katrina Scott (407) — 58
7. Katie Volynets (105) — 57
The Challenge utilizes clay-court professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the French Open, as the USTA and FFT have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2024 French Open and US Open will be exchanged.
Both the men’s and women’s wild cards are awarded to the Americans with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three clay-court tournaments during a five-week window for the women and a four-week window for the men. All red-clay and Har-Tru events at the 35 level and above for the women and the 25 level and above for the men, including WTA and ATP Tour events, will be included in the Challenge.
Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the French Open, or those who enter with a protected ranking, are not eligible. Should the player with the highest number of challenge points earn direct entry into the French Open, the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or best WTA singles ranking on the Monday immediately following the challenge’s conclusion will earn the wild card.
The USTA utilizes this Challenge format to award wild cards into the Australian, French and US Opens. Previous Americans to earn wild cards into the French Open via the Challenge and how far they advanced at Roland Garros include:
2023: Emma Navarro (2R); Patrick Kypson (1R)
2022: Katie Volynets (2R); Michael Mmoh (1R)
2019: Lauren Davis (2R); Tommy Paul (1R)
2018: Taylor Townsend (2R); Noah Rubin (1R)
2017: Amanda Anisimova (1R); Tennys Sandgren (1R)
2016: Taylor Townsend (2R); Bjorn Fratangelo (2R)
2015: Louisa Chirico (1R); Frances Tiafoe (1R)
2014: Taylor Townsend (3R); Robby Ginepri (1R)
2013: Shelby Rogers (2R); Alex Kuznetsov (1R)
2012: Melanie Oudin (2R); Brian Baker (2R)
