Teenage Talents Chase Volynets on Women’s Side;
Moreno de Alboran Maintains Men’s Lead
ORLANDO, Fla., April 15, 2024 – Nineteen-year-old Katina Scott, 18-year-old Liv Hovde and 17-year-old Akasha Urhobo are chasing leader Katie Volynets as the women’s side of the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge approaches its halfway point, while Nicolas Moreno de Alboran retains his lead on the men’s side.
Hovde (winner), Urhobo (finalist as a wild card) and Scott (semifinalist) all picked up Challenge points from the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Boca Raton, Fla., last week.
The Challenge utilizes clay-court professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the French Open, as the USTA and FFT have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2024 French Open and US Open will be exchanged.
The full standings are below, along with each player’s current ranking in parenthesis:
Men’s Standings
1. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (140) — 63
2. Michael Mmoh (111) — 50
T3. JJ Wolf (102) — 25
T3. Aleks Kovacevic (97) — 25
5. Tennys Sandgren (264) — 22
Women’s Standings
1. Katie Volynets (104) — 57
2. Katrina Scott (412) — 49
3. Akasha Urhobo (641) — 37
4. Liv Hovde (272) — 35
T5. Amanda Anisimova (238) — 32
T5. Shelby Rogers (350) — 32
Both the men’s and women’s wild cards will be awarded to the Americans with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three clay-court tournaments during a five-week window for the women and a four-week window for the men. The last week of the men’s challenge is April 22. The last week of the women’s challenge is April 29.
All red-clay and Har-Tru events at the 35 level and above for the women and the 25 level and above for the men, including WTA and ATP Tour events, will be included in the Challenge.
Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the French Open, or those who enter with a protected ranking, are not eligible. Should the player with the highest number of challenge points earn direct entry into the French 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 immediately following the challenge’s conclusion will earn the wild card.
The USTA utilizes this Challenge format to award wild cards into the Australian, French and US Opens. Previous Americans to earn wild cards into the French Open via the Challenge and how far they advanced at Roland Garros include:
2023: Emma Navarro (2R); Patrick Kypson (1R)
2022: Katie Volynets (2R); Michael Mmoh (1R)
2019: Lauren Davis (2R); Tommy Paul (1R)
2018: Taylor Townsend (2R); Noah Rubin (1R)
2017: Amanda Anisimova (1R); Tennys Sandgren (1R)
2016: Taylor Townsend (2R); Bjorn Fratangelo (2R)
2015: Louisa Chirico (1R); Frances Tiafoe (1R)
2014: Taylor Townsend (3R); Robby Ginepri (1R)
2013: Shelby Rogers (2R); Alex Kuznetsov (1R)
2012: Melanie Oudin (2R); Brian Baker (2R)
