Stan Wawrinka and Williams sisters receive late wild cards for the 2026 US Open

Late entry for Wawrinka

Organizers of the US Open awarded Stan Wawrinka a main-draw wild card on Wednesday after American player Patrick Kypson withdrew due to injury. The 41-year-old Swiss player, currently ranked 127th in the world, had announced in December that 2026 would be his final season on the professional tour. Kypson, ranked 115th, had received the eighth and final men's singles wild card on Saturday before his withdrawal opened a spot. Wawrinka chose not to enter the qualifying event in New York and had initially missed out on direct entry into the main tournament. His acceptance confirms an 18th career appearance at Flushing Meadows, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in four sets to win the championship in 2016.

I'm incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 U.S. Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again.

Turnaround after social media farewell

The decision followed public reaction over Wawrinka's initial omission from the wild card list earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Wawrinka posted a message to social media that appeared to conclude his career at Flushing Meadows. The Swiss competitor holds a 46-16 career record at the US Open, where he also reached the semifinals in 2013 and 2015 alongside three quarterfinal finishes. Wawrinka competed at all three previous Grand Slam events in 2026, reaching the third round at the Australian Open and entering the main draws at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He has stated that his career will conclude on home soil at the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel in October.

Winning the U.S. Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life.

Williams sisters enter doubles competition

Serena and Venus Williams also received a wild card on Wednesday to participate in the women's doubles draw. The pair has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals as a team. This entry marks their tenth appearance together at the US Open, where they won doubles titles in 1999 and 2009. The sisters last played as a doubles team in New York in 2022 and prepared for the tournament by competing in Cincinnati the previous week. While 44-year-old Serena is focusing solely on doubles competition, 46-year-old Venus will also play in the women's singles tournament using a separate wild card.

Tournament schedule and field updates

Serena Williams also participated in the mixed doubles competition in New York alongside Carlos Alcaraz, winning an opening match against Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool. The pair then exited the competition in the quarterfinals on Tuesday after a defeat against Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic. In other tournament developments, 20-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca withdrew from the event because of an abdominal muscle injury. Fonseca, ranked 26th in the world, reached the French Open quarterfinals earlier this year with victories over Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic. The official singles draw takes place on Thursday, with main draw competition beginning on Sunday, August 30.