With the U.S. Open set to commence on August 26, the USTA announced the men’s and women’s singles wild cards, including Stan Wawrinka and Naomi Osaka.
Naomi Osaka will be one of the many wild cards at the US Open (Image: GETTY)
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has announced the men’s and women’s singles wild card recipients for the 2024 U.S. Open, beginning on August 26. Perhaps the biggest names to be included as a wild card are four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
The 39-year-old Wawrinka most famously defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2016 U.S. Open final, the only time that year Djokovic won the first set but lost the match. Then in 2023, Wawrinka, 38, became the oldest man to win a singles match at the U.S. Open since 1992, when Jimmy Connors did so at age 40.
Along with Osaka and Wawrinka are former champions Bianca Andreescu and Dominic Thiem, the USTA announced. Thiem most recently won the men’s U.S. Open in 2020 while Andreescu won the women’s tournament in 2019.
Meanwhile, for Osaka, being a wild card draw bodes well for her comeback despite recently falling to Ashlyn Krueger, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Osaka has long stated that the U.S. Open is where she hopes to get back into the swing of things, hoping the tournament is when she will return to full strength.
However, the Japanese star posted a lengthy message on Instagram, telling fans how she feels and what her mindset is about heading into the U.S. Open. Particularly, Osaka shared with fans how she has not felt truly 100 percent, with her mind and body not fully connecting.
Stan Wawrinka was also selected as a wild card (Image: Getty)
“I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel for the past several hours,” her post began. “In a weird way I’ve come to appreciate losses, you don’t play tennis for 20+ years without your fair share of them.
“You learn from a loss and then eagerly await your next opportunity to put what you learned to test. My biggest issue currently isn’t losses though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body. It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to.
“I try and tell myself ‘It’s fine you’re doing great, just get through this one and keep pushing,’ mentally it’s really draining though. Internally I hear myself screaming ‘What the hell is happening?!?!’
“That scares [me] because I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3, the tennis racquet should feel like an extension of my hand. I don’t understand why everything has to feel almost brand new again… Nothing in life is promised but I realized that I can promise myself to work as hard as I can and give it my best shot till the very end. See you in New York.”
Men’s Singles Wild Card Recipients:
Stan Wawrinka
Dominic Thiem
Chris Eubanks
Zachary Svajda
Lerner Tien
Matthew Forbes
Alexandre Muller
Tristan Schoolkate
Women’s Singles Wild Card Recipients:
Naomi Osaka
Bianca Andreescu
McCartney Kessler
Amanda Anisimova
Alexa Noel
Iva Jovic
Chloe Paquet
Taylah Preston
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