Fresh off gold medals in singles at the Tokyo Paralympics, Shingo Kunieda, Diede De Groot and Dylan Alcott have arrived at Flushing Meadows as the top seeds in the 2021 US Open Wheelchair Competition presented by Deloitte.
The draws for the event, which begins Thursday, were released in full on Tuesdsay, and after topping the podium in Tokyo, these three champions headline the three singles draws as they each seek another US Open crown.
Defending quad singles champion Sam Schroder, two-time US Open champion Alfie Hewett and eight-time Grand Slam singles winner Yui Kamiji are also seeded in their represective singles fields, with the quad event consisting of eight players for the first time in tournament history. American interests are represented in all three events in the form of Bryan Barten, Dana Mathewson, Casey Ratzlaff and David Wagner. Barten, Mathewson and Ratzlaff are all wild card entries to the field, while Wagner earned direct entry as the world No. 5 in the quad rankings.
US Open Wheelchair Competition singles draws: Men's Singles | Women's Singles | Quad Singles
US Open Wheelchair Competition doubles draws: Men's Doubles | Women's Doubles | Quad Doubles
The U.S. has two of its representatives playing in the quads, where Barten drew Alcott in the opening round, the first player in the Aussie's path to a Golden Slam. Also in the top half of the draw, Wagner, also unseeded, faces Japan's Koji Sugeno in the opening round in a rematch of their quarterfinal tilt in Tokyo that was won by Sugeno in straight sets, and the winner of that will advance to face either Alcott or Barten in the semifinals.
In the men's open field, Ratzlaff, playing in his second Open after making his major debut last year, drew Kunieda in the first round. The 23-year-old from Wichita, Kan. represented Team USA at his first Paralympics a fortnight ago, winning his first round in both singles and doubles, and has only faced the world No. 1 once previously.
For the women, Mathewson was drawn to face Aniek Van Koot of the Netherlands, the 2013 US Open singles champion, in the first round, and could face world No. 1 de Groot in the second. De Groot, also bidding for the Golden Slam, faces Angelica Bernal of Colombia in the first round.
In doubles, Hewett and Gordon Reid top the men's draw as they seek a eighth consecutive major title, while de Groot and van Koot are the top seeds in women's doubles. Wagner and Andy Lapthorne, winners at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, are the No. 2 seeds in quad doubles, with Alcott and Heath Davidson as the No. 1 seeds.
The 2021 US Open Wheelchair Competition begins at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Thursday, Sept. 9 with quarterfinal action in singles.
