Wildcard announcements are always one of the big talking points ahead of a Grand Slam and the confirmation from USTA chiefs of their picks ahead of the US Open has answered some questions and thrown up a few more.
The announcement from New York on Tuesday outlined the big names who have made the cut and a few who have missed out.
“Former US Open women’s singles champions Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens have received singles main draw wildcards to the 2026 US Open,” read the statement.
“They join fellow Americans Carol Young Suh Lee, Reese Brantmeier and Thea Frodin, who also earned singles main draw wildcards, as well as France’s Leolia Jeanjean and Australia’s Taylah Preston.
“Meanwhile, Americans Janae Preston, Katrina Scott, Caroline Dolehide and more have received wildcards to the women’s singles qualifying tournament.”
This announcement ends any debate over Serena Williams playing singles at the US Open, with the 23-time Grand Slam champion set to take to the court in New York alongside her sister Venus in the doubles event.
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The men’s event has also had wildcard confirmations, with Gael Monfils getting the nod over former champion Stan Wawrinka in what is the final year on tour for both.
“Gael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin headline the recipients of the 2026 US Open Men’s Singles Main Draw wildcards,” said the USTA statement. “Rising American stars Michael Zheng, Martin Damm, J.J. Wolf, Sebastian Gorzny and Jack Kennedy have also been awarded wildcards.
“2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori was given a wildcard into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, where 128 athletes compete in the hopes of winning three matches in a row during the qualifying draw, which earns them one of the final 16 spots in the main draw.
“Several Americans join Nishikori in the qualifying event as wildcard recipients, including Michael Antonius, Andrew Johnson, Jordan Lee, Trevor Svajda, Andre Ilagan, Spencer Johnson and Daniel Milavsky.”
The reaction to the men’s wildcards was focused on the decision to give French entertainer Monfils a place in the main draw ahead of Swiss maestro Wawrinka, with social media users struggling to understand why a player who has never won a Grand Slam had got a wildcard ahead of a three-time major winner.
This is a contentious decision, as even though neither player will be a challenger to win the title, Wawrinka has missed out on a final appearance at the US Open due, in part, to tennis politics.
The USTA have what is called a ‘Reciprocal Wildcard Agreement’ with the Australian Open and French Open that seems them include players from the other Grand Slam nations and that is the criteria on which Monfils and Popyrin earned their chance.
Meanwhile, French tennis chiefs secured a wildcard for Leolia Jeanjean in the women’s draw, while Tennis Australia got Taylah Preston into the US Open main draw.
This announcement also appears to confirm that former US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper will not be playing at this year’s US Open, with his future in the sport plunged into doubt due to an injury.
There is increased speculation over what comes next for Draper in the sport after his Instagram account was deactivated earlier this week.
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