HOUSTON, March 11, 2026 (Media Release)
The entry list for qualifying at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship has been announced, with 2025 US Clay quarterfinalist Colton Smith, former Texas A&M All-American Patrick Kypson, and Indian Wells breakout star Rinky Hijikata headlining the field that will compete for a main draw spot.
The two rounds of qualifying will take place March 28-29 at the River Oaks Country Club. Entrance is free to see the 16 players compete for four spots, and this year will be the first time qualifying matches will be played in Stadium Court.
Hijikata, a 25-year-old Australian, just came through qualifying at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, scoring his first Top-10 win over Alexander Bublik to reach the Round of 16 in his best performance at the ATP 1000 level.
Smith returns to US Clay one year after his breakthrough run to the quarterfinals as a qualifier. That milestone week marked the 22-year-old American’s first ATP-level quarterfinal, and took place during his final semester at the University of Arizona.
Last year was a big one at US Clay for qualifiers as Jenson Brooksby saved one match point during qualifying, then went all the way through the draw, defeating Frances Tiafoe in the final for his first ATP title.
Kypson, the winner of seven career Challenge titles, reached a career high ranking this month after breaking into the Top 100 for the first time. He and Smith are two of five Americans in the qualifying field, alongside Mackenzie McDonald, another new member of the Top 100 Zachary Svajda, and 22-year-old Martin Damm. Damm reached his first ATP semifinal in Montpellier last month as a qualifier.
Smith and Kypson are two of six college players in the qualifying field. Great Britain’s Jack Pinnington Jones has deep Texas ties: He played at TCU for three years before turning pro and appeared in his first ATP quarterfinal in Dallas in February.
More former college players include former NCAA champion McDonald (UCLA), Hijikata (UNC), and Liam Draxl (Kentucky), a finalist at a record seven ATP Challenger events in 2025, winning one.
Standing out amongst the entrants is 26-year-old Wu Yibing. He became the first Chinese player to win an ATP event when he captured the Dallas title in 2023 and recently made a run to the quarterfinals in Acapulco.
Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga, the second-highest ranked player in the qualifying at No. 98, is the son of Jorge Burruchaga, a former football player who scored the game-winning goal in the 1986 World Cup final.
The two youngest players are 21-year-olds Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and Coleman Wong. Wong balances his pro career with his studies at the University of Hong Kong.
The four players who advance out of qualifying will join a strong main draw field that features five past US Clay champions: Brooksby (2025), Ben Shelton (2024), Tiafoe (2023), Reilly Opelka (2022), and Cristian Garin (2019).
Below is the initial qualifying entry list:
(Rank) Name, Country
(95) Patrick Kypson, USA
(98) Roman Andres Burruchaga, Argentina
(99) Zachary Svajda, USA
(104) Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, Paraguay
(112) Wu Yibing, China
(117) Rinky Hijikata, Australia
(123) Coleman Wong, Hong Kong
(126) Mackenzie McDonald, USA
(129) Martin Damm, USA
(130) Shintaro Mochizuki, Japan
(134) Jack Pinnington Jones, Great Britain
(136) Colton Smith, USA
(147) Liam Draxl, Canada
(164) Hugo Dellien, Bolivia
The field is subject to change. Two additional players will be added to the field with wild cards.
