WHITE PLAINS, October 18, 2019 (USTA Press Release)

The USTA announced that the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, which utilizes indoor and outdoor hard-court pro tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the Australian Open, will kick off the week of October 21 for the women and October 28 for the men and conclude the week of November 11 for both. The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2020 Australian Open and US Open are exchanged.

The women’s wild card will be awarded to the American with the highest cumulative total of WTA singles ranking points earned from their best three results during those four weeks, at the events specified below.

The men’s wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of ATP singles ranking points earned from their best two results during the three-week men’s window, including results from any professional hard-court event at the ATP Challenger level and above around the world.

Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the Australian Open are not eligible, nor are players ranked in the ATP or WTA Top 50 at the start of the Challenge. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the Australian 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 November 18 will earn the wild card.