The US Open first round begins Monday, Aug. 25, but if you cannot wait to see some great tennis, come out to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week, as 128 men and 128 women battle it out for places in the year’s final Grand Slam.
The 2008 US Open Qualifying Tournament – one of the largest tennis tournaments in the country – begins Tuesday, Aug. 19, and runs through Aug. 22. It is free and open to the public.
There are 32 final entries for the 2008 US Open singles draw at stake, divided between 16 men and 16 women.
In this year’s women’s qualifying tournament, the USTA awarded wild cards to Kristie Ahn (16, Upper Saddle River, N.J.), Julia Boserup (16, Los Angeles), Madison Brengle (18, Dover, Del.), Kimberly Couts (19, Bradenton, Fla.), reigning US Open girls’ singles champion Kristina Kucova (18, Slovak Republic), Amanda McDowell (20, Atlanta), Christina McHale (16, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Shenay Perry (24, Coral Springs, Fla.), and Sloane Stephens (15, Boca Raton, Fla.).
On the men’s side, the USTA awarded eight wild cards into the qualifying tournament to Jean Yves Aubone (20, Miami), Ricardas Berankis (18, Lithuania), Chase Buchanan (17, Columbus, OH), Alex Clayton (20, Bradenton, Fla.), Ryan Harrison (16, New Braunfels, Tex.), Travis Helgeson (22, Overland Park, Kan.), Bryan Koniecko (21, Syosset, N.Y.), Michael McClune (18, Irvine, Calif.) and Tim Smyczek (20, Hales Corners, Wis.).
Some notable qualifiers from 2007 are Alize Cornet of France, now ranked No. 18 in the world, and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, who both reached the third round of the US Open in women’s singles.
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