NEW YORK, Aug 16: Two-time champion Naomi Osaka and fellow past U.S. Open winners Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem and Bianca Andreescu were given wild cards Wednesday into this year’s tournament.
Osaka won the first of her four Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and took the title again in 2020. But like the other past champions given wild cards by the U.S. Tennis Association, she has missed significant time in recent seasons and was not ranked highly enough to qualify directly for the tournament.
Osaka returned to the WTA Tour this season after giving birth last year to a daughter, but is still searching for the form that led her to No. 1 in the rankings and made her one of the most dominant players on hard courts, having also won the Australian Open twice.
Osaka, who also left the tour for mental health reasons, lost in qualifying for this week’s Cincinnati Open. She wrote afterward in an Instagram post that it was a strange feeling “missing balls that I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to.”
Andreescu, a Canadian who beat Serena Williams for the 2019 U.S. Open title, missed nine months last year with a back injury before returning to tour at the French Open. Thiem will get a chance to play a final Grand Slam tournament, having announced earlier this year he would retire following the season. The 30-year-old Austrian won his lone major title at the 2020 U.S. Open, but has battled a wrist injury for much of the last three years.
Wawrinka, 39, won the 2016 U.S. Open for one of his three Grand Slam titles. Like Thiem, he rose as high as No. 3 in the ATP rankings but has fallen outside the top 100. He will be making his 72nd appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, fifth all-time.
Americans Amanda Anisimova, McCartney Kessler, Alexa Noel and Iva Jovic also received wild cards into the women’s main draw, along with Chloe Paquet of France and Taylah Preston of Australia.
Men to receive wild cards were Americans Chris Eubanks, Learner Tien, Zachary Svajda and Matthew Forbes, along with France’s Alexandre Muller and Australian Tristan Schoolkate.The U.S. Open begins Aug. 26.The inclusion of former champions Naomi Osaka, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, and Bianca Andreescu as wild cards for this year’s U.S. Open adds a layer of intrigue to the tournament. Each player, once at the pinnacle of the sport, now faces a unique journey of rediscovery and resilience as they return to Flushing Meadows. (AP)
