ORLANDO, October 19, 2022 (USTA Press Release)
The top three women in the running for an Australian Open main draw wild card are unchanged heading into Week 4 of the five-week Challenge window, though Caty McNally extended her lead and Peyton Stearns rose to No. 4 with 100 points.
The current Top 4 — their WTA rankings in parenthesis — with two weeks remaining in the Women’s Challenge window:
1. Caty McNally (No. 117) — 155
2. Alycia Parks (No 124) — 125
3. Claire Liu (No. 63) — 111
4. Peyton Stearns (No. 281) — 100
Players ranked in the Top 50 when the five-week Challenge window began are not eligible to earn the wild card. Should the player who wins the Challenge earn direct entry into the Australian Open (entry lists will be made on December 5), the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings.
The Women’s Challenge will run through the week of October 24, and the wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three indoor and/or outdoor hard court tournaments during the five-week window. All indoor and outdoor hard-court events at the 25 level and above, including WTA Tour events, will be included in the Challenge. In the event of a tie for the women, the player with the best WTA singles ranking on October 31 will earn the wild card.
The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2023 Australian Open and US Open will be exchanged. Wild card recipients will have to follow all Australian Open protocols as it relates to quarantine or vaccination.
