SAVANNAH, April 16, 2016

The USTA today announced that Denis Kudla, 23, of Arlington, Virginia/Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a wild card entry into the 2016 St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger. This $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit men’s event will take place April 18-24 at The Landings Club in Savannah.

Kudla is currently ranked No. 59 in the world. Kudla made international headlines at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships after reaching the Round of 16. Although he suffered a tough four set loss to 2014 US Open Champion Marin Cilic, Kudla followed-up on his momentum rand reached the semi-finals of the BB&T Atlanta Open later that month.

In 2015, Kudla also found continued success on the ATP Challenger Tour after reached the quarterfinals or better at five events throughout the year. His most recent title came on June 20, 2015 at a Challenger event in Ilkey, Great Britain, where he defeated Matthew Ebden, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals. Kudla holds 10 USTA Pro Circuit singles and doubles titles overall (six in singles, four in doubles).

The USTA also awarded main draw wild cards to Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, Tennessee, Brian Baker of Nashville, Tennessee, and Tommy Paul of Boca Raton, Florida.

“This field for the St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger is one of the strongest Challenger fields in recent memory. It has strength throughout the draw, and also features 2 past champions in Ryan Harrison and Brian Baker”, said Chris Kader, tournament director of the SJ/C Savannah Challenger.

The SJ/C Savannah Challenger, a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, will be held at The Landings Club, April 18-24. Professional athletes from around the world will be competing for $50,000 in prize mon-ey, as well as valuable ATP World Tour Ranking points.