USTA Launches Aussie Open Wild Card Challenge

October 9, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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The USTA has announced the launch of the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. New for this year, the Wild Card Challenge will utilize the USTA Pro Circuit to award wild cards into the 2015 Australian Open.

In this Wild Card Challenge, the American man and American woman who earn the most ATP World Tour and WTA ranking points at two of the three select USTA Pro Circuit hard-court events this fall will earn main draw wild cards into the 2015 Australian Open. Only Americans who did not earn direct entry into the Australian Open are eligible. The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2014 US Open and 2015 Australian Open are exchanged.

All tournaments will be streamed live on www.procircuit.usta.com. This format replaces the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs, an elimination tournament that has been held since 2006 for the women and 2007 for the men. Each of the last five years featured an eight-player, single-elimination playoff held at Life Time Athletic at Peachtree Corners in Norcross, Ga., to determine the Australian Open wild cards.

The new Australian Open Wild Card Challenge will consist of the following events:

$50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Women’s Events
Tennis Classic of Macon, Macon, Ga. (week of Oct. 20)
​►John Newcombe Women’s Pro Challenge, New Braunfels, Texas (week of Oct. 27)
​►South Seas Island Resort Women’s Pro Classic, Captiva Island, Fla. (week of Nov. 3)

$50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Men’s Events
​►Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger, Charlottesville, Va. (week of Oct. 27)
​►Knoxville 2014 Challenger, Knoxville, Tenn. (week of Nov. 3)
​►JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana, Champaign, Ill. (week of Nov. 10)

The USTA first used this wild card format in 2012 to award wild cards into the French Open and U.S. Open and has been doing so ever since. This year, Taylor Townsend, the women’s winner of the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge, was a top story at the French Open, reaching the third round. Veteran Robby Ginepri won the 2014 men’s French Open wild card. Two-time NCAA singles champion Nicole Gibbs earned a wild card into the 2014 U.S. Open through the USTA Pro Circuit and achieved her career-best Grand Slam result by advancing to the third round; Wayne Odesnik earned the U.S. Open men’s wild card.

The 2015 Australian Open main draw will be held Monday, Jan. 19, to Sunday, Feb. 1.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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