US Open wild cards announced

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With less than two weeks to go before the US Open, the USTA has announced the players on whom it has bestowed wild cards.

Leading the list for the women is Venus Williams, who will compete in her 23rd US Open.

She was the champion in 2000 and 2001.

(Williams, notably, had wild cards both in Montreal and Cincinnati, but ended up not playing).

Joining Williams are Coco Vandeweghe (29) and Caty McNally, Hailey Baptiste and Katie Volynets, who are all 19.

As well, NCAA singles champion Emma Navarro and under-18s champion Ashlyn Krueger also received wild cards, along with Storm Sanders as the reciprocal wild card with Tennis Australia.

Brooksby leads men’s WC list

On the men’s side, Jack Sock gets a main-draw wild card, along with Ernesto Escobedo among the more veteran players.

Youngsters Jenson Brooksby, Brandon Nakashima and Emilio Nava get passes as well. Mackenzie McDonald ended up getting into the main draw on his own ranking, after a few withdrawals.

Brooksby and Nakashima are 20; Nava is 19.

*Brooksby is probably the exact type of player who earns and/or deserves a wild card, with his rise up the rankings over the last two months.*

NCAA singles champion Sam Riffice and under-18 national champion Zachary Svajda earned the way into the main draw that way.

Max Purcell, mostly known as a doubles player but who notably upset Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of the Olympics, gets the Tennis Australia reciprocal.