The British player faced a lot of backlash for declining to compete in the French Open following his denial of a wildcard. Due to the wildcard rules favoring local players, she withdrew from both the Roland Garros and the Rome tournaments, which she was actually never going to qualify for.
Rather, she returned home, played in Eastbourne and Nottingham, making runs that boosted her confidence, before succumbing to Wimbledon’s surprise package Lulu Sun. She will, however, return without having to qualify or obtain a wildcard to Flushing Meadows, the location of her first success. Another small breath of relief for the USTA, as less competition for the remaining berths results from a few players, like Raducanu, no longer needing them. Another player who won’t require them going forward is Wozniacki.
After returning at this time last year, the former World No. 1 has also faced criticism. After her Roland Garros rejection, her father Piotr called it disrespectful that his daughter wasn’t receiving wildcards. She was given a wildcard for the US Open but has subsequently declined to play in qualification for events. When she made it to the third round at Wimbledon, Elena Rybakina soundly defeated her. Though she is now ranked 72nd in the globe, she has plenty of room to rise to the top 50 given the number of players in her immediate vicinity who have similar scores.
However, when the Entry Lists were made public, other players weren’t as fortunate. It is anticipated that three players will require wildcards. Although she is currently six places outside of the cut, Naomi Osaka, the former World No. 1 player, has probably made the greatest progress since her return at the beginning of the year. She no longer has access to her protected ranking. Angelique Kerber, who is far down in the top 200, doesn’t either. Even after just a few events, Bianca Andreescu hasn’t improved enough to reclaim her positions. She is ranked 170th, but as she is a prominent player in the US and Canada and a past winner, she is probably going to receive a wildcard. Additionally, her recent form has demonstrated that she is deserving.
Another well-known name who will require a wildcard is Amanda Anisimova, who is ranked quite close to her. Therefore, as protected rankings expire, more will join stage left while the two that are eliminated from the wildcard hunt exit. Which players, though, will need to participate in qualifying? It won’t be taken into consideration going forward, at least for Raducanu and Wozniacki.