Former US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, along with other players like Amanda Anisimova, are among the wild card recipients for this year's US Open.
Quite a few notable players are among the wild card recipients for the 2024 US Open. It's a specific situation because there are a few high-profile players whose ranking is insufficient to enter the main draw directly.
They would have to play the qualifying to get in, or not qualify for the event at all, so it's not a surprise that the tournament organizers gave out the wild cards to these players.
Naomi Osaka is the leading name among the wild card recipients. She's a former champion of this event, having won it twice in her career (2018 and 2020), so the wild card is more than deserved.
She might have been fine with playing the qualifiers as well because she did it for the Cincinnati Open recently. The problem with the qualifiers is that players might miss out on the event, as Osaka did with the Cincinnati Open.
Her tennis is a bit inconsistent right now, and having to win three matches in the qualifiers wouldn't be a given, so getting a wild card is certainly preferable for the Japanese player.
Another player who finds herself in a similar situation is Bianca Andreescu. She's also a former US Open champion but only won the tournament once. Her 2019 trophy is interesting because it's right in between Osaka's 2018 and 2020 title runs.
The similarity between her situation and that of Osaka is that they're both not playing clean tennis right now. The Canadian would be more than capable of making the main draw, but it's not a given that she would win three matches in a row without struggling in at least one of them.
In that sense, getting in directly thanks to the wild card is preferable for Andreescu, and she has also earned her spot at the season's final major.
Another wild card recipient is Amanda Anisimova, who recently played in the Canadian Open final. Her ranking is also not that impressive, though she improved it dramatically with her recent performance.
As a native player who is picking up some serious form, this was a no-brainer decision for the event. The way she performed in Toronto makes her a player to watch in New York because that level could easily push her into the second week of the US Ope.
Another wild card was given to Mccartney Kessler, who is a 25-year-old with a breakout year. She's about to enter the Top 100, and she is also a native player.
Other wild card recipients include Iva Jovic, a talented youngster from the United States, and Taylah Preston, another talented teenager from Australia.
Chloe Pacquet from France also received a wild card as a part of an agreement with the French Open to give one of the wild cards to a French player.
The final wild card went as it's customary to the NCAA champion, who this year is 21-year-old Alexa Noel from the University of Miami.
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