USTA Press Release, August 14, 2017
The 2017 US Open Wild Card Challenge is now complete with Sofia Kenin, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Tommy Paul, 20, of Greenville, N.C, earning the wild cards into the main draw of the US Open. The 2017 US Open will be held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10.
Kenin won the wild card challenge for the second straight year on the strength of her results at three $60,000 USTA Pro Circuit events: She won the singles title in Stockton, Calif., reached the semifinals in Sacramento, Calif., and advanced to the final in Lexington, Ky. Kenin made her Grand Slam debut at the 2015 US Open after earning a wild card as the USTA Girls’ 18s national champion. Kenin, one of the youngest players in the Top 200, is currently ranked a career-high No. 141.
Paul clinched a spot in the main draw of the US Open for the second time in his young career. Paul qualified for the 2015 US Open main draw, becoming just the 16th player ever to reach the US Open main draw after receiving a wild card into qualifying. Paul won the US Open Wild Card Challenge by reaching back-to-back ATP quarterfinals in Atlanta and Washington D.C.—his first career ATP quarterfinals—and advancing to the semifinals of the $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Winnetka, Ill. As a junior player, he advanced to the final of the junior US Open in 2015 and won the 2015 French Open junior singles title. Paul is ranked No. 175 in the world after peaking at No. 174 last week.
The final men’s and women’s standings can be found here (MEN’S STANDINGS; WOMEN’S STANDINGS).
New this year for the men’s wild card challenge, USTA Player Development considered all American players’ results worldwide for the wild cards. Both USTA Pro Circuit tournaments and U.S. and international ATP World Tour events on any professional outdoor hard-court surface at the ATP Challenger-level and above were included. New for the women’s wild card challenge, USTA Player Development considered American players’ results in both select $60,000 outdoor USTA Pro Circuit hard-court events (main draw only), as well as qualifying and main draw results from the WTA tournaments in Washington D.C., and Stanford, Calif.
