{"id":2100049,"date":"2026-08-18T23:00:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2100049"},"modified":"2026-08-18T23:00:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:00:36","slug":"us-open-wildcard-announcement-ends-two-big-questions-and-sparks-a-major-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2100049","title":{"rendered":"US Open wildcard announcement ends two big questions and sparks a major reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">US Open wildcard announcement ends two big questions and sparks a major reaction<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/kevin-palmer\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Kevin Palmer                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Aug 2026 12:00 AM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Aug 2026 12:00 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1787094036\"><br \/>\n                            19 Aug 2026 12:00 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-wildcard-announcement-protest-wawrinka-monfils-draper\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to linkedin\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/\/send\/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-wildcard-announcement-protest-wawrinka-monfils-draper\" aria-label=\"Share to whatsapp\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-wildcard-announcement-protest-wawrinka-monfils-draper\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"US Open wildcard announcement ends two big questions and sparks a major reaction\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Wawrinka-Draper-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Stan Wawrinka at the 2026 Estoril Open with an inset of Jack Draper\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Stan Wawrinka and Jack Draper                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Wildcard announcements are always one of the big talking points ahead of a Grand Slam and the confirmation from USTA chiefs of their picks ahead of the US Open has answered some questions and thrown up a few more.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement from New York on Tuesday outlined the big names who have made the cut and a few who have missed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer US Open women\u2019s singles champions Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens have received singles main draw wildcards to the 2026 US Open,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey join fellow Americans Carol Young Suh Lee, Reese Brantmeier and Thea Frodin, who also earned singles main draw wildcards, as well as France\u2019s Leolia Jeanjean and Australia\u2019s Taylah Preston.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeanwhile, Americans Janae Preston, Katrina Scott, Caroline Dolehide and more have received wildcards to the women\u2019s singles qualifying tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This announcement ends any debate over Serena Williams playing singles at the US Open, with the 23-time Grand Slam champion set to take to the court in New York alongside her sister Venus in the doubles event.<\/p>\n<h2>More Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/venus-williams-losing-record-danger-wildcard\">Venus Williams is now setting records for all the wrong reasons \u2013 it needs to stop<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/carlos-alcaraz-usopen-fitness-test-holger-rune\">Carlos Alcaraz could stage a very public US Open fitness test as he is set for final decision<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The men\u2019s event has also had wildcard confirmations, with Gael Monfils getting the nod over former champion Stan Wawrinka in what is the final year on tour for both.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin headline the recipients of the 2026 US Open Men\u2019s Singles Main Draw wildcards,\u201d said the USTA statement. \u201cRising American stars Michael Zheng, Martin Damm, J.J. Wolf, Sebastian Gorzny and Jack Kennedy have also been awarded wildcards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori was given a wildcard into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, where 128 athletes compete in the hopes of winning three matches in a row during the qualifying draw, which earns them one of the final 16 spots in the main draw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral Americans join Nishikori in the qualifying event as wildcard recipients, including Michael Antonius, Andrew Johnson, Jordan Lee, Trevor Svajda, Andre Ilagan, Spencer Johnson and Daniel Milavsky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The reaction to the men\u2019s wildcards was focused on the decision to give French entertainer Monfils a place in the main draw ahead of Swiss maestro Wawrinka, with social media users struggling to understand why a player who has never won a Grand Slam had got a wildcard ahead of a three-time major winner.<\/p>\n<p>This is a contentious decision, as even though neither player will be a challenger to win the title, Wawrinka has missed out on a final appearance at the US Open due, in part, to tennis politics.<\/p>\n<p>The USTA have what is called a \u2018Reciprocal Wildcard Agreement\u2019 with the Australian Open and French Open that seems them include players from the other Grand Slam nations and that is the criteria on which Monfils and Popyrin earned their chance.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, French tennis chiefs secured a wildcard for Leolia Jeanjean in the women\u2019s draw, while Tennis Australia got Taylah Preston into the US Open main draw.<\/p>\n<p>This announcement also appears to confirm that former US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper will not be playing at this year\u2019s US Open, with his future in the sport plunged into doubt due to an injury.<\/p>\n<p>There is increased speculation over what comes next for Draper in the sport after his Instagram account was deactivated earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/tennis-wild-card-debate-withdrawal\">Are big-name tennis players abusing the wildcard system amid a rush of high-profile withdrawals?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Open wildcard announcement ends two big questions and sparks a major reaction Kevin Palmer 19 Aug 2026 12:00 AM Stan Wawrinka and Jack Draper Wildcard announcements are always one of the big talking points ahead of a Grand Slam and the confirmation from USTA chiefs of their picks ahead of the US Open has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2100049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2100049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2100049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2100049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2100049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}