The women’s Challenge closes Sunday, Aug. 9. The men’s runs to Aug. 16. Updated standings have since been released. JJ Wolf leads the men after winning the Challenger 125 in Vancouver, and Elvina Kalieva leads the women by 18 points from Caroline Dolehide, with this the final counting week for the women. This page will be updated when the winners are confirmed.
The US Open Wild Card Challenge is the route by which one American man and one American woman play their way into the US Open main draw on results rather than reputation. It runs across the summer hard-court swing, and it is the most meritocratic of the eight singles wild cards the tournament hands out.
How the Challenge works
Players accumulate ranking points from eligible hard-court tournaments during a fixed window. The totals are cumulative but capped: only a set number of results count, so a single deep run matters more than steady accumulation.
The men’s wild card goes to the American with the highest total of ATP singles ranking points from his best four results over five weeks, counting outdoor and indoor hard-court events at M25 level and above anywhere in the world. The women’s goes to the American with the highest total of WTA points from her best three results over four weeks, counting events at W35 level and above. Points earned in qualifying count alongside main-draw points.
Key dates
- Challenge began: week of July 13, for both men and women
- Women’s Challenge ends: Sunday, Aug. 9
- Men’s Challenge ends: Sunday, Aug. 16
- US Open main draw: Aug. 30 – Sept. 13
Why Cincinnati does not count
Results from the Cincinnati Open are excluded for both the men and the women. It is the largest hard-court event inside the Challenge window and the one carrying the most ranking points, and none of it registers. A contender who receives a Cincinnati wild card gains a valuable week for her ranking and nothing at all for this race. The exclusion keeps the Challenge focused on the Pro Circuit and Challenger events that its target players actually contest.
Who is eligible
Any American who would otherwise reach the main draw is excluded, including players entering on a protected ranking. If the player topping the standings earns direct entry before the wild card is awarded, it passes to the next eligible American on the list. Ties are broken by the better singles ranking on the Monday after the Challenge closes.
That structure means the leaderboard alone never settles it. A contender climbing fast enough to enter on ranking effectively removes herself from the Challenge by succeeding at it.
Where the race stands
At the halfway point Dolehide led the women’s standings after winning the W100 in Evansville, Indiana, the biggest title of her career. Elvina Kalieva has since moved ahead of her, reaching the semifinals of the WTA 250 in Memphis to lead by 18 points, with Ayana Akli third after reaching the final of the W75 in Lexington, Kentucky. Zheng, a two-time NCAA singles champion, led the men at the same stage, but JJ Wolf has since taken over at the top by winning the Challenger 125 in Vancouver and now heads Zheng by 87 points. Andres Martin is third. Wolf has won this before. He took the 2022 Challenge and reached the third round at that year’s US Open, and was ranked inside the top 40 as recently as 2023, which makes him the rare contender chasing a wild card back to a level he has already held.
Kalieva lost her opening match at the W100 in Landisville, Pennsylvania, while Dolehide won hers, leaving the two within reach of each other going into the final weekend. Zheng has since entered the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship with Reese Brantmeier, and is in the Cincinnati Open qualifying field — a week that will not count toward his total here.
The Challenge as a launchpad
The USTA runs the same format for the Australian and French Opens, and the winners’ list is a reasonable predictor of who arrives next. Iva Jovic won the Roland Garros Challenge in 2025 ranked No. 120 and is now the youngest player in the WTA top 20. Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova both won US Open Challenges in 2024 and are both now inside the top 20. Tommy Paul won two between 2017 and 2019 before reaching the top 10.
Recent US Open Wild Card Challenge winners
- 2025: Emilio Nava (first round); Caty McNally (second round)
- 2024: Learner Tien (first round); Amanda Anisimova (first round)
- 2023: Steve Johnson (first round); Kayla Day (first round)
- 2022: JJ Wolf (third round); Elizabeth Mandlik (second round)
- 2019: Ernesto Escobedo (first round); Kristie Ahn (fourth round)
The Challenge is one strand of a wider allocation. The full picture of who already holds a place in New York and who is still waiting sits in our US Open wild card tracker.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US Open Wild Card Challenge?
It is a USTA competition that awards a US Open singles main-draw wild card to one American man and one American woman based on ranking points earned at hard-court tournaments during a fixed summer window.
When does the 2026 US Open Wild Card Challenge end?
The women’s Challenge ends Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. The men’s Challenge ends Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026.
Do Cincinnati Open results count toward the Challenge?
No. Results from the Cincinnati Open are excluded for both the men’s and women’s Challenge, even though the event falls inside the qualifying window.
Who is eligible for the US Open Wild Card Challenge?
American players who would not otherwise reach the main draw. Anyone earning direct entry, including on a protected ranking, is ineligible, and the wild card passes to the next eligible American in the standings.
How many results count toward a player’s total?
The men count their best four results across five weeks. The women count their best three results across four weeks. Qualifying points count alongside main-draw points.
