ORLANDO, October 11, 2023 (USTA Press Release)
McCartney Kessler‘s first pro singles title won at the USTA Pro Circuit W60 in Rome, Ga., last week has her on pole position for a wild card into the Australian Open after the first week of the women’s side of the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge.
The Top 5 in the women’s standings after the first of five weeks are below (player’s current ranking in parenthesis):
1. McCartney Kessler (240) — 80
2. Jennifer Brady (222) — 65
3. Iva Jovic (NR) — 50
4. Grace Min (266) — 48
5. Jamie Loeb (261) — 29
The Challenge will utilize indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the 2024 Australian Open. The men’s Challenge will begin with events starting the week of October 23.
The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2024 Australian Open and US Open will be exchanged.
The women’s wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three tournaments during a five-week window, running through the week of October 30. All indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet events at the 25 level and above, including WTA Tour events, will be included in the Challenge.
The men’s wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned from a maximum of three events during a four-week window, running through the week of November 13. All indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet events at the 25 level and above, including ATP Tour and Challenger events, will be included in the Challenge.
Ranking points earned in the main draw and qualifying will be counted toward each player’s Challenge point total. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the Australian Open, the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings. In the event of a tie for the men or the women, the player with the best singles ranking on the Monday immediately following the conclusion of the Challenge will earn the wild card. Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the Australian Open are not eligible.
