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The timing couldn’t be more … well, maybe “awkward” is the word for it.

But a day after Bianca Andreescu exited in the first round to a lucky loser and two days after Naomi Osaka – in her first appearance in tournament qualifying since 2018 – crashed out of the Cincinnati Open before even getting to the main draw, the two former champions received singles wild cards into the US Open.

Osaka, who won the title in 2018 and 2020 and Andreescu, who was the filler in between those titles in 2019, will come into the final Grand Slam of the season ranked No. 84 and No. 168, respectively.

If those US Open titles feel like a lifetime ago to us, imagine how it feels to them. Especially because hard courts are their happy place and it’s … not going well this year.

That Osaka is not directly into the draw with that ranking is because she was at No. 102 at the deadline. At the moment, she is the fourth alternate. So it’s possible she could get in on her own ranking if that number of players withdraw before the start of qualifying.

On the men’s side, the tournament has also given two former champions main draw wild cards.

The first is Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champion who has already announced he will retire a the end of the 2024 season. Still only 30 but currently ranked No. 209, Thiem is playing sparingly; despite being a former finalist, he received only a qualifying wild card into Roland Garros, and lost in the second round. He didn’ get one into Wimbledon. So he has played just three matches since Roland Garros: one on grass in Mallorca and one each on clay in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.

The second is 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka, 39, who unlike Thiem has announced no plans to retire. But his ranking of No. 105 at the deadline (No. 178 currently) means six players would have to withdraw this week for him to get in on his own ranking.

Reciprocals, challenges and play-ups

Here are the compete lists of main-draw wild cards, which include the reciprocal invitations with two of the other majors and those who earned the passes by winning other events in the U.S.

Notable is Amanda Anisimova, who came in and took the USTA’s wild-card challenge with her unexpected run to the final at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Given that most of the other aspirants were playing ITF-level events to try to qualify, that was an impressive, last-minute swoop.

The list means there is far less room for lower-ranked players from the host country – unlike Roland Garros or Wimbledon. Of course, those are the choices they make.

Women’s singles wild cards

*Naomi Osaka (2018 & 2020 champion)
*Bianca Andreescu (2019 champion)
*McCartney Kessler (Made top 100 last week)
*Amanda Anisimova (USTA wild-card challenge winner)
*Alexa Noel (NCAA singles champion)
*Iva Jovic (national under-18s champion)
*Chloe Paquet (French Federation reciprocal)
*Taylah Preston (Tennis Australia reciprocal)

Men’s singles wild cards

*Stan Wawrinka (2016 champion)
*Dominic Thiem (2020 champion)
*Chris Eubanks (2024 Olympian)
*Zachary Svajda (NCAA singles champion)
*Learner Tien (USTA wild-card challenge winner)
*Matthew Forbes (national under-18s champion)
*Alexandre Muller (French Federation reciprocal)
*Tristan Schoolkate (Tennis Australia reciprocal)

Woz and Raducanu? No problem!

That those lists do not include notable wild-card recipients Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu is… well, no problem.

With Wozniacki ranked No. 76 (currently No. 81) and Raducanu No. 94 (currently No. 70) at the entry deadline, they can get in on their own rankings.

Which definitely made the decisions a lot easier for the USTA.

Raducanu did not get a wild card in Cincinnati or in Toronto, and opted not to play. Wozniacki did get one in Cincinnati, and plays her first-round match against Anhelina Kalinina Wednesday night.

Qualifying wild cards

Those went to the following players

Women: Clervie Ngounoue, Liv Hovde, Tyra Grant, Akasha Urhobo, Sophie Chang, Mary Stoiana, Kristina Penickova, Julieta Pareja and Valerie Glozman.

Penickove is just 14, Pareja 15.

Men: Brandon Holt, Ethan Quinn, Nishesh Basavareddy, Kaylan Bigun, Eliot Spizzirri, Aidan Mayo, Bruno Kuzuhara, Michael Zheng and the fabulously-named Jack Kennedy, 16.

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