ORLANDO, Fla., April 29, 2026 (USTA Media Release)
Nishesh Basavareddy‘s Challenger title in Savannah, Ga., last week vaulted him to the top of the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge men’s standings, while Akasha Urhobo extended her women’s lead with one week left.
While Basavareddy’s title in Savannah allowed him to leap Emilio Nava, Nava can reclaim first place by reaching the quarterfinals this week at the ATP Challenger 175 in Cagliari, Italy. Darwin Blanch is the only other contender still alive on the men’s side and would need to win the Challenger 100 in Mathausen, Austria, to have a chance.
Nearly all of the top women’s contenders are still in the running, with Urhobo, Day and Kalieva leading the group competing at the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Bonita Springs, Fla. Each of those players’ point totals, however, are already counting points from the maximum three events, so they would all need deep runs to add on. Whitney Osuigwe and Varvara Lepchenko lead the few contenders competing at the WTA 125s in Spain and France.
The top of the standings after Week 4 of 5:
Women’s Standings
(Player’s current ranking in parentheses)
1. Akasha Urhobo (239) — 131
T2. Kayla Day (152) — 81
T2. Sloane Stephens (396) — 81
4. Whitney Osuigwe (180) — 79
5. Elvina Kalieva (134) — 75
6. Varvara Lepchenko (157) — 69
Men’s Standings
(Player’s current ranking in parentheses)
1. Nishesh Basavareddy (177) — 112
2. Emilio Nava (116) — 103
3. Jack Kennedy (582) — 66
T4. Stefan Dostanic (268) — 50
T4. Martin Damm (126) — 50
The Challenge utilizes clay-court professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into this year’s French Open. Both the men’s and women’s wild cards will be awarded to the American players with the most ranking points earned — including qualifying and main draw points — at a maximum of three clay-court tournaments during the Challenge’s five-week window, ending May 3. All red-clay and Har-Tru events at the W35 level and above for the women and the M25 level and above for the men, including WTA and ATP Tour events, will be included in the Challenge.
Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the French Open main draw, or those who have a protected ranking with which to enter the main draw, are not eligible for the Challenge. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the French 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 Monday, May 4, will earn the wild card.
The USTA and FFT have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2026 French Open and US Open will be exchanged. The USTA utilizes this Challenge format to award wild cards into the Australian, French and US Opens.
