News

FLUSHING, N.Y. — The USTA announced today that Gail Brodksy (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Mallory Cecil (Spartanburg, S.C.), Alexa Glatch (Newport Beach, Calif.), Vania King (Long Beach, Calif.), Christina McHale (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Kristina Mladenovic (France) and Olivia Rogowska (Australia) will join former US Open Champion Kim Clijsters (Belgium) as main draw wild cards at the 2009 US Open Tennis Championships, which will be played August 31 – September 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.6 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.6 million potential payout) based on their performance in the Olympus US Open Series. In addition, both US Open singles champions will receive a new 2010 Lexus IS Convertible.

Brodsky, 18, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is receiving a wild card for the second straight year; she earned a wild card last year with her victory at the 2008 USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships (she finished third at this year’s event). In May, Brodsky reached the quarterfinals at the USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 event in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla. She is currently ranked No. 415.

Cecil, 19, of Spartanburg, S.C., won the 2009 NCAA singles title as a freshman at Duke University. She also helped lead the Blue Devils to the 2009 NCAA team title and was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Player of the Year. Cecil won back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit $10,000 titles last June, and last month she reached the quarterfinals of a $50,000 event in Grapevine, Texas.

Clijsters, 26, of Belgium, returned to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this month after a two-year retirement. The former world No. 1 earned the biggest paycheck in the history of women’s sports — $2.2 million — in 2005 when she won the US Open and Olympus US Open Series. She has reached the final at four other Grand Slams, including the 2003 US Open, and won 34 singles titles in her career.

A full-time resident at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., McHale, 17, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., earned her wild card by winning the 2009 USTA Girls’ 18s National Championship last weekend in Berkeley, Calif., where she also won the doubles title. McHale also earned a wild card into the 2009 Australian Open by winning a USTA wild card playoff. On the junior circuit, McHale won the 2009 Girls’ 18s Easter Bowl and the girls’ doubles title at this year’s Australian Open. She also helped lead the U.S. to the 2008 Junior Fed Cup title.

Mladenovic, 16, of France, is currently the No. 1 player in the ITF World Junior Rankings. She received her wild card through a reciprocal agreement with the French Tennis Federation, which gave a 2009 French Open wild card to the USTA that was awarded to Lauren Embree. Madenovic won the girls’ singles title at Roland Garros this year, and reached the girls’ singles and doubles finals at Wimbledon.

Rogowska, 18, of Australia, is currently ranked No. 167 and received her wild card through a reciprocal agreement with Tennis Australia, which will give a 2010 Australian Open wild card to a player selected by the USTA. Rogowska has competed in the main draws of the 2009 Australian and French Opens.

In addition to the eight US Open women’s singles main draw wild cards, the USTA also announced the nine women who have been awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 25-28 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Players receiving US Open qualifying wild cards are: Kristie Ahn (17, Upper Saddle River, N.J.), USTA Girls’ 18s runner-up Lauren Embree (18, Marco Island, Fla.), Irina Falconi (19, Jupiter, Fla.), Nicole Gibbs (16, Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Asia Muhammad (18, Henderson, Nev.), Alison Riske (19, McMurray, Pa.), Laura Robson (15, Great Britain), Sloane Stephens (16, San Pedro, Calif.) and reigning US Open girls’ singles champion Coco Vandeweghe (17, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)

The 2009 US Open will be held Monday, August 31 through Sunday, September 13. Tickets for the 2009 US Open can be purchased four ways: 1) at usopen.org; 2) by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866 OPEN-TIX; 3) at all Ticketmaster outlets; or 4) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office. American Express is the Official Card of the US Open.