Giavara Earns Indian Wells Wild Card

Haley Giavara has improved her WTA ranking by more than 300 spots since graduating in May.

WTEN7/17/2023 5:10 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Former California women’s tennis team star Haley Giavara has made the most of her young professional career so far, claiming a wild card into qualifying in the 2024 BNP Paribas Open after compiling the most points by a women’s player in singles in the SoCal Pro Series, a collection of tournaments on the ITF/USTA Pro Circuit. In the “Race to Indian Wells,” the erstwhile Golden Bear posted numerous top finishes, including capturing the title of the W15 Irvine tournament and finishing her run with an appearance in the Sunday final of the W15 Lakewood tournament.
 
One of the world’s most prestigious tournaments outside of the Grand Slams, the BNP Paribas Open will take place in March in Indian Wells.
 
“This is a tournament I wouldn’t expect to play in for another two to three years down the line,” Giavara said. “It’s really special this is happening next year. It feels great!”
 
Giavara accumulated 63 points from the seven SoCal Pro Series tournaments to easily outdistance second-place finisher Megan McCray (38 points). The San Diego product clinched the wild card prior to Sunday’s final, in which she fell to Reese Brantmeier, 6-4, 6-4. Giavara also reached the doubles semifinals in Lakewood and won the doubles crown at the Irvine tournament in early July.
 
A two-time All-American for the Bears who was equally adept in the classroom, Giavara was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s tennis, named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll, garnered a berth on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, and earned ITA Scholar-Athlete status for the 2022-23 season.

She has been playing tennis practically nonstop since graduating from Cal in May with bachelor’s degrees in legal studies and sociology, and her WTA ranking reflects her recent success. Giavara was ranked 950th in the world in the WTA poll on May 22 – the date of the first rankings that came out after she graduated – and she now sits at a career-best No. 648 in Monday’s latest poll.

 

“It’s going great,” Giavara said of the start to her pro career. “To have as many WTA points as I’ve gotten in the past nine weeks, literally…