Townsend Leads as Fratangelo Locks Up Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge

May 2, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Taylor Townsend took a commanding lead in the women’s USTA Pro Circuit Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge Standings at the end of Week 2 by winning the $50,000 Boyd Tinsley Clay Court Classic in Charlottesville, Va., this weekend, putting her in a strong position to earn a main-draw wild card into the 2016 French Open. Townsend claimed 80 points from Charlottesville and 48 points by reaching the final of the $50,000 Hardee’s Pro Classic in Dothan, Ala., two weeks ago, totaling 128 points.

The women’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge concludes this week with the $75,000 Revolution Technologies Pro Tennis Classic in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. This year, Indian Harbour Beach is a $75,000 event, so 115 points are at stake for winning the title there, meaning numerous players still have a chance to overtake Townsend by capturing the title.

Last week, 2011 French Open junior champion Bjorn Fratangelo, 22, of Pittsburgh, earned the men’s wild card. Fratangelo finished the wild card challenge with 115 points by winning the $50,000 St. Joseph’s/Candler Savannah Challenger in Savannah, Ga., and by reaching the semifinals of the $100,000 Joey Gratton Sarasota Openin Sarasota, Fla. Fratangelo will be making his French Open main-draw debut later this month with the wild card. He is ranked No. 115 in the world.

USTA Player Development awards a French Open main-draw wild card to one American man and one American woman who earn the most ATP World Tour and WTA Tour ranking points in a series of USTA Pro Circuit clay-court events this spring.

Ranking points from two out of the three men’s and women’s events will be used and combined to calculate the point total and determine the French Open wild card recipient. If a player competes in more than two events, only his or her two best tournaments will be counted in calculating the point total. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or WTA singles ranking in the published rankings of Monday, May 2 (men), and Monday, May 9 (women), will be awarded the wild card. Only players who have not earned direct acceptance into Roland Garros are eligible for the wild card.

The standings, as of May 2, are as follows:


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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