QUEENS, N.Y. – Three former Gators under Head Coach Roland Thornqvist were unveiled in the 2024 US Open Main Draw. Anna Danilina and Ingrid Neel will be competing in the doubles category, and 2022 graduate McCartney Kessler will make her US Open debut in singles.
McCartney Kessler has been on the rise all summer and recently broke into the top-100 for singles play. Kessler currently sits at No. 63 and will make her US Open appearance after winning the 2024 Cleveland Open on Saturday, Aug. 24. In her pursuit to the Cleveland trophy, Kessler defeated three of the top five seeds including No. 21 Beatriz Haddad Maia in the championship. Kessler dropped seven of the first eight games against Haddad Maia before igniting a major comeback to claim her biggest career win, ousting the top-25 player and jumping from No. 98 to No. 63 in the world.
Since the start of 2024 Kessler has tallied 35 singles victories on the professional tour with five of them taking place in the last week. Kessler will lean towards her current momentum as she enters the US Open main draw for the first time in her career. The No. 63 ranked American is set to play No. 19 Marta Kostyuk on Monday, Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. If Kessler advances past Kostyuk it would mark her highest career victory and put her on the board for round two of the tournament.
While at the University of Florida McCartney Kessler was teammates with Anna Danilina. Danilina and Kessler crossed over in Gainesville during the 2017-2018 season when Danilina was a senior and Kessler a freshman. Danilina and Kessler both closed out their time in Gainesville with a list of similar accolades: First Team All-SEC, ITA All-American, SEC All-Tournament Team, ITA Scholar-Athlete, Second Team All-SEC, and SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Anna Danilina will return to New York after claiming the 2023 US Open Mixed Doubles title. Danilina won the championship alongside Harri Heliovaara defeating Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek 6–3, 6–4. Danilina is looking to set another precedent this year and enters the prestigious tournament ranked No. 48. Danilina has already won two doubles titles since the start of 2024: UniCredit Lasi Open (Romania, Jul. 21-26), and Open Delle Puglie (Italy, Jun. 3-9).
Ingrid Neel will also be representing the Gators in the doubles draw at the US Open. Neel is currently ranked No. 47 in the doubles category and holds four career titles. Neel’s most recent pro title was in June at the Libéma…
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