Ten Americans Advance to Thursday's Final Round of Wimbledon Qualifying; Two US Boys Compete at Armani Junior Invitational; USTA Announces Dates for Annual US Open Wild Card Challenge

Keeping up with all the Americans in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying won't be easy, with six women and four men playing for main draw spots Thursday at Roehampton.

Last year only three Americans reached the final round of qualifying, all women, with Iva Jovic and Taylor Townsend reaching the main draw. The third, Robin Montgomery, is back at that stage again this year, after making it through qualifying in 2024.

One US man is guaranteed to make the main draw when Colton Smith(Arizona) meets Michael Zheng(Columbia). The two played twice in 2024, with Zheng winning both matches; the second was a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in the semifinals of the NCAA singles tournament.

2017 Wimbledon girls champion Claire Liu is one step away from her first main draw at Wimbledon since 2023, and fellow 26-year-old Kayla Day will make her main draw debut if she wins tomorrow. Day has never made the final round of qualifying in her four previous appearances.

Twenty-four-year-old Fiona Crawley, playing Wimbledon qualifying for the first time, posted a second consecutive victory in a third-set tiebreaker. The former North Carolina All-American needed two-hours and 45-minutes to get past Julia Riera of Argentina, but unlike finish with Himeno Sakatsume of Japan, a 10-8 tiebreaker, Crawley dominated the final game 10-1 against Riera.

Tristan Boyer(Stanford) has lost only eight games in his two victories, and they are first two wins in Wimbledon qualifying for the 25-year-old Southern Californian, who plays on clay much more often than most of his American peers.

Wednesday's second round Wimbledon qualifying results of Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] d. Mai Hontama(JPN) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Fiona Crawley d. Julia Riera(ARG) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1)
Robin Montgomery d. Elvina Kalieva[31] 6-2, 6-2
Katie Volynets[5] d. Elizara Yaneva(BUL) 6-1, 6-4
Claire Liu d. Kaitlin Quevdo[7](ESP) 6-4, 6-4
Mananchaya Sawangkaew(THA) d. Mary Stoiana[25] 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Polina Kudermetova[11](UZB) d. Clervie Ngounoue 6-1, 6-2
Kayla Day[32] d. Erika Andreeva(RUS) 6-2, 6-2

Colton Smith d. Borna Gojo(CRO) 6-4, 6-4

Michael Zheng[26] d. Laslo Djere(SRB) 7-5, 6-3

Moez Echargui[29](TUN) d. Keegan Smith 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) 

Tristan Boyer d. Andrea Pellegrino[17](ITA) 6-2, 6-1

Dane Sweeny[11](AUS) d. Darwin Blanch 2-6, 7-6(7), 4-0, ret.

Mackenzie McDonald[13] d. Roberto Carballes Baena(ESP) 6-4, 

Thursday's final round Wimbledon qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] v. Polina Iatcenko(RUS)

Fiona Crawley v Alina Korneeva[3](RUS)

Katie Volynets[5] v Leolia Jeanjean[23](FRA)

Kayla Day[32] v Katarzyna Kawa[14](POL)

Claire Liu v Elena Pridankina(RUS)

Robin Montgomery v Marina Bassols Ribera(ESP)

Tristan Boyer v Pablo Llamas Ruiz[7](ESP)

Mackenzie McDonald[13] v Christopher O'Connell[32](AUS)

Colton Smith v Michael Zheng[26]

The Giorgi Armani Tennis Classic is an ATP exhibition the week before Wimbledon at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London, with players competing this week including ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Americans Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien and Martin Damm.

The week also includes a Junior Invitational, for both boys and girls, and top American juniors have played it over the years to get some extra reps on the surface before the ITF J300 in Roehampton. This year Michael Antonius and Gabriel Jessup are the Americans in the field, although Jessup's inclusion is a surprise as his career-high ITF junior ranking is 427 and he has no ATP ranking.

Results aren't posted regularly anywhere, but there is a Facebook page that is updated with occasional results.

The USTA announced the dates for its annual US Open Wild Card Challenge, which begins July 13th for both men and women. Today's release:

US Open Wild Card Challenge Returns to Award an American Man and Woman a Singles Main Draw Wild Card Into the 2026 US Open

 

Challenge to Begin the Week of July 13 for Men and Women

 

Orlando, Fla., June 24, 2026 – The US Open Wild Card Challenge, which utilizes hard-court pro tournaments to award an American man and woman a singles main draw wild card into the US Open, will kick off the week of July 13 for both the men and the women. The women’s Challenge will end on August 9, while the men’s Challenge will end on August 16.

 

The men's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of ATP singles ranking points earned from their best four results over five weeks. The Men's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the M25-level and above around the world.

 

The women's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of WTA singles ranking points earned from their best three results over four weeks. The Women's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the W35-level and above around the world.

 

Both main draw and qualifying points earned from eligible tournaments count toward each player’s Challenge total. Results from the Cincinnati Open will not count for either the men or the women.

 

Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the US Open are not eligible, including those who can enter with a protected ranking. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the US Open, the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or best WTA singles ranking on the Monday following the end of the Challenge will earn the wild card.

 

The USTA utilizes this Challenge format to award singles main draw wild cards into the US Open, French Open and Australian Open. Wild cards earned from the Challenges have been a springboard for many Americans over the years. Iva Jovic won the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge in 2025 while ranked No. 120 and a year later is the youngest player ranked in the WTA Top 20, at No. 17. Tommy Paul won two Challenges between 2017-19 en route to eventually reaching the Top 10.

 

Previous US Open Wild Card Challenge winners (and how they did at that year’s US Open) are below:

 

2025: Emilio Nava (1R); Caty McNally (2R)
2024: Learner Tien (1R); Amanda Anisimova (1R)
2023: Steve Johnson (1R); Kayla Day (1R)
2022: JJ Wolf (3R), Elizabeth Mandlik (2R)
2019: Ernesto Escobedo (1R), Kristie Ahn (4R)
2018: Bradley Klahn (1R), Asia Muhammad (1R)
2017: Tommy Paul (1R), Sofia Kenin (3R)
2016: Ernesto Escobedo (2R), Sofia Kenin (1R)
2015: Bjorn Fratangelo (1R), Samantha Crawford (1R)
2014: Wayne Odesnik (1R), Nicole Gibbs (3R)
2013: Bradley Klahn (2R), Shelby Rogers (1R)
2012: Steve Johnson (3R), Mallory Burdette (3R)