USTA Tennis Open 2014

Eighteen-year-old Louisa Chirico of Harrison, N.Y. will make her Grand Slam singles main draw debut at the 2015 French Open after winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge this weekend. Chirico finished the wild card challenge with 128 points by winning the singles title at the $50, 000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Dothan, Ala., three weeks ago and by reaching the final at the $50, 000 event in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., this weekend.

Chirico tied fellow teenager Katerina Stewart in the wild card challenge. Stewart won the title in Indian Harbour Beach in three sets and also reached the final in both Dothan and at the $50, 000 event in Charlottesville, Va. However, by rule of the Har-Tru Wild Card Challenge, in the event of a tie, the player with the best WTA singles ranking in the published WTA rankings of Monday, May 11, 2015, will be awarded the wild card. Since Chirico will have the best WTA singles ranking on Monday, she is awarded the wild card. As of today, Chirico is ranked 120th in the world and Stewart is ranked 201st. Chirico will be ranked higher than Stewart.

Any American that did not receive direct entry into the 2015 French Open was eligible for the wild card, awarded to the man and woman who earn the most ATP/WTA ranking points at select USTA Pro Circuit clay court events. The USTA and the French Tennis Federation have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2015 French and U.S. Opens are exchanged. USTA Player Development awards the women’s wild card to the player who accumulates the greatest number of WTA ranking points at two of three USTA Pro Circuit $50, 000 clay-court events—the Hardee’s Pro Classic in Dothan, Ala., the Boyd Tinsley Clay Court Classic in Charlottesville, Va., and the Revolution Technologies Pro Tennis Classic in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.