USTA Press Release, August 8, 2017
Tommy Paul, 20, of Greenville, N.C., today clinched a spot in the main draw of the US Open for the second time in his young career, this time by winning the 2017 US Open Wild Card Challenge. Paul secured the wild card when no other player could surpass him in the standings this week at the US Open Series event in Montreal or at any of three current ATP hard-court Challengers.
Paul finishes the men’s wild card challenge with 176 points after reaching his second consecutive ATP quarterfinal in Washington D.C., last week. Paul also qualified for and reached the quarterfinals in Atlanta—his first career ATP quarterfinal—and advanced to the semifinals of the $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Winnetka, Ill., last month.
Paul is currently ranked a career-high No. 174 in the world. He trains at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla.
Paul made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2015 US Open as a qualifying wild card. Paul was just the 16th player ever to compete in the US Open main draw after receiving a wild card into qualifying and then winning three matches to secure his spot in the main singles draw. He also advanced to the final of the junior US Open in 2015, losing to Taylor Fritz, and won the 2015 French Open junior singles title, becoming the sixth American ever to win the boys’ championship in Paris.
Last week, Sofia Kenin, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., won the women’s wild card challenge to clinch a spot in the main draw of the US Open for the third straight year. Kenin also won the US Open Wild Card Challenge last year. She is currently ranked a career-high No. 141 in the world.