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SPORTS Wednesday 14 august 2019

Take 2: 15-year-old Coco Gauff gets US Open wild-card entry

By HOWARD FENDRICH ing Meadows in New York
AP Tennis Writer City were 2011 U.S. Open
Coco Gauff will get a champion Sam Stosur — an
chance to try for an en- Australian who was grant-
core: The 15-year-old from ed that country's reciprocal
Florida received a wild- berth — and 17-year-old
card entry Tuesday for the Caty McNally, an American
U.S. Open's main draw. who won the doubles title
It will be Gauff's second with Gauff and reached
Grand Slam tournament. the singles semifinals at the
She made a magical run to Citi Open in Washington
the fourth round at Wimble- this month.
don last month after get- Gauff and McNally have
ting a wild card into the said they plan to play
qualifying rounds there. doubles together at Flush-
Ranked just 313th at the ing Meadows; that event's
time, Gauff became the wild-card entries will be
youngest player to qualify announced later. The pair
for Wimbledon, upset five- won the U.S. Open junior
time champion Venus Wil- doubles trophy together a
liams in the first round and year ago.
wound up losing at the All The draw for the U.S. Open
England Club to eventual is Aug. 22, and play in the
title winner Simona Halep. year's last major tennis tour-
Gauff is currently No. 140 nament begins Aug. 26.
in the WTA rankings. She Other women's wild cards
initially made a mark at went to Francesca Di
age 13 by becoming the Lorenzo, Whitney Osuigwe,
youngest U.S. Open junior Kristie Ahn and Katie Voly-
finalist in history; she won nets of the U.S., along with
the French Open junior title 16-year-old Diane Parry of
at 14. Age restrictions set France, who got her coun-
up by the women's profes- try's reciprocal invitation.
sional tour limit the number Di Lorenzo, a 22-year-old
of tournaments someone from Ohio, is a past NCAA
who is 15 can enter and the doubles champion now
number of wild-card invita- ranked 128th. Osuigwe, a
tions she can be offered 17-year-old from Florida,
— and Gauff already has won a French Open junior
accepted three wild cards title and is ranked 105th.
elsewhere. But according Ahn, a 27-year-old from
to the WTA, the U.S. Tennis New Jersey, finished first in
Association — which runs the USTA's wild-card chal-
a Grand Slam tournament, lenge, while Volynets, a
and so is not overseen by 17-year-old from Califor-
the WTA or ATP tours — es- nia, won the 18s national Cori "Coco" Gauff returns the ball as she and Catherine McNally played a doubles match against
Anna Kalinskaya, of Russia, and Miyu Kato, of Japan, in the Citi Open tennis tournament, Friday,
sentially can choose to ig- championship. Aug. 2, 2019, in Washington.
nore the eligibility rule and Nine wild cards for women's Associated Press
offer Gauff a wild card. qualifying were also award-
"I want to thank the USTA ed, including to five-time is still recovering from sur- that Kudla's wild card France's reciprocal entry.
for the opportunity to par- Grand Slam doubles cham- gery on his right kneecap. would now go to Chris Eu- The Australian federation
ticipate in my home slam," pion Bethanie Mattek- That allowed Denis Kudla, banks, a 23-year-old from has not announced who
Gauff said in a statement Sands, 14-year-old Reese a 26-year-old from Virgin- Georgia. Others getting will get its men's wild-card
emailed by her agent. "I Brantmeier of Wisconsin, ia who was the highest- into the main draw include invitation. Men awarded
look forward to playing my Vicky Duval, Shelby Rogers ranked man to miss out on Americans Jack Sock, Bjorn wild cards for qualifying
first main draw at the U.S. and Pan Am Games med- making the field via direct Fratangelo, Marcos Giron, include Sebastian Korda,
Open." alist Caroline Dolehide. acceptance, to get into USTA wild-card challenge the son of 1998 Australian
Among the other players Juan Martin del Porto, the the main draw just hours af- winner Ernesto Escobedo Open champion Petr Kor-
receiving wild cards from 2009 U.S. Open champion, ter he was announced as a and 18s national champion da, as well as last year's 18s
the USTA on Tuesday for pulled out of the tourna- wild-card recipient. Zachary Svajda, along with national champion, Jenson
the women's field at Flush- ment Tuesday because he So the USTA announced Antoine Hoang, who got Brooksby.q