Former champions Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, as well as resurgent Amanda Anisimova, are among the eight players who received US Open main-draw wild cards on Wednesday.
Main-draw play at the year’s last Grand Slam event starts on Monday, Aug. 26. The wild cards join an already jam-packed field, with top-ranked Iga Swiatek and defending champion Coco Gauff leading the way.
World No.1 Swiatek, defending champion Gauff lead US Open entry list
Here is a snapshot of the eight main-draw wild card recipients:
Naomi Osaka: Former World No.1 Osaka won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the US Open, in 2018 and 2020. Overall, the Japanese star has played the US Open main draw seven times, and she has a commanding 22-5 win-loss record in the main draw of the event.
Osaka returned from maternity leave at the start of this season after giving birth to daughter Shai in 2023. The 26-year-old returned to the Top 100 last month and has risen to World No.90 as of this week.
Bianca Andreescu: Andreescu won her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 US Open, becoming the first Canadian player to win a major singles title. That same year, she also won WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and her home event of Toronto.
Former World No.4 Andreescu holds a 12-2 main-draw win-loss record at the US Open. The 24-year-old missed last year’s edition due to injuries.
Amanda Anisimova: Former Top 25 player Anisimova zoomed back up the rankings after making her first WTA 1000 final at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week. The American defeated four straight Top 20 players in Canada to reach her first singles final since 2022.
The 22-year-old Anisimova took an eight-month hiatus from the sport last year and started this season ranked outside the Top 300, but she is now back inside the Top 50 after Toronto. Her performance in Canada won her this year’s USTA’s US Open Wild Card Challenge.
McCartney Kessler: American Kessler also received a main-draw wild card and will be making her US Open main-draw debut. The 25-year-old is a former All-American from the University of Florida.
After playing in the main draw at this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon, Kessler won the ITF W100 Challenger event in Landisville, Pa. last week and made her Top 100 debut…