The final Grand Slam of the year begins in Flushing Meadows, where 14 players with Southern California ties, along with several SoCal Pro Series alumni, will take the court in US Open qualifying, each chasing one of the final 16 spots in the men’s and women’s singles draws. From Monday, August 24 through Thursday, August 27, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will welcome accomplished veterans, rising stars and Grand Slam hopefuls all vying for a place in the main draw.

Teenagers Making Their Mark

Can somebody say déjà vu? Two years later, Julieta Pareja and Kayla Day are set for another all SoCal showdown in the opening round of qualifying. The 17 year old Pareja will look to repeat her 2024 victory over Day, when she edged her fellow Southern Californian 7-6(5), 6-4. This time, Day enters as the No. 9 seed, setting the stage for another highly anticipated rematch.

Nine years Pareja’s senior, Day brings plenty of Grand Slam experience. The Santa Barbara native won the 2016 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships, earning a wild card into the US Open main draw, where she reached the second round, while also capturing the Junior US Open title that same week. This will be her eighth US Open.

Pareja is making her third US Open appearance after receiving a wild card into last year’s main draw, where she made her Grand Slam debut against No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina. Day, meanwhile, has not returned to the US Open main draw since 2023, but qualified for Wimbledon earlier this summer, completing the feat of reaching the main draw at all four Grand Slam tournaments. With a rematch, plenty of experience and a spot in the main draw on the line, this all SoCal clash is one of qualifying’s must watch matchups.

Joining the young talent is 17 year old Andrew ‘Andy’ Johnson, ranked No. 12 among the world’s top junior players. The Torrance native reached his first SoCal Pro Series final earlier this summer at Jack Kramer, continuing a breakout season that also saw him reach the semifinals of the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. That performance earned Johnson a wild card into US Open qualifying, where he will make his Grand Slam qualifying debut against Japan’s Taro Daniel.

UCLA Bruins Making Their Debut

Also making his US Open qualifying debut is UCLA’s Spencer Johnson, a Ladera Ranch native who has been one of the hottest players on the SoCal Pro Series this summer. A two time NCAA singles and doubles qualifier and ITA All America honoree, Johnson closed out his 2026 SoCal Pro Series campaign with a 15 match win streak, including a victory over San Diego’s Noah Zamora in the men’s singles final at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club. He claimed three singles titles this summer, sending his ATP ranking soaring more than 500 spots to No. 445. Awarded a wild card into US Open qualifying, Johnson opens against No. 24 seed Cristian Garin of Chile.

Following his Grand Slam singles debut at Wimbledon, where he advanced to the second round of qualifying, San Diego’s Keegan Smith is set for his first US Open singles qualifying appearance. The former UCLA Bruin has previously competed in Flushing Meadows in doubles, reaching the second round in 2022, but this marks his singles debut at the tournament. Smith enters New York at a career high No. 195, reached earlier this month, after winning the 2025 SoCal Pro Series singles title at Barnes Tennis Center in front of his hometown crowd. He followed that breakthrough with his first ATP Challenger title at the 2026 Bengaluru Open II, defeating Philip Sekulic in the final. Now, Smith looks to add another Grand Slam milestone when he opens qualifying against Canada’s Alexis Galarneau.

US Open Veterans Return

Mackenzie “Mackie” McDonald, a former NCAA singles and doubles champion at UCLA, returns to Flushing Meadows for his 12th US Open appearance. The Piedmont native has reached the main draw every year since 2020. A former career high No. 37, McDonald is now ranked No. 144 and enters qualifying as the No. 28 seed, with Italy’s Stefano Napolitano awaiting him in the opening round.

Also a US Open veteran, 26 year old Claire Liu is set for her 10th appearance in New York as the No. 6 seed in qualifying. The Thousand Oaks native is coming off a standout summer, winning her first title since 2024 at the W75 Trnava in Slovakia before qualifying for the Roland Garros and Wimbledon main draws. At Wimbledon, Liu reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, defeating Hanne Vandewinkel and Zeynep Sönmez before falling to No. 7 seed Coco Gauff in three sets. She opens qualifying against Great Britain’s Heather Watson.

American Collegiate Wild Card Playoffs

20 year old Trevor Svajda is headed back to New York with another opportunity to make his mark on the Grand Slam stage. The Pacific Beach native earned a wild card into US Open Qualifying after reaching the singles final at the American Collegiate Wild Card Playoffs in June at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, defeating Ohio State’s Aidan Kim in the semifinals along the way.

The SMU standout is set for his second Grand Slam appearance and first since 2023, when he made his US Open qualifying debut. Svajda fell to James Duckworth in the opening round that year, but returns to Flushing Meadows with plenty of momentum and a decorated college season behind him. Named an ITA Player to Watch following the 2025-26 season, Svajda earned two All America honors after reaching the NCAA Singles Championship round of 16 and finishing No. 4 in the ITA singles rankings. He held the No. 1 ranking four times during the season and finished with a 32-6 record, including a 21-3 mark in dual play and 16 wins over ranked opponents. Now ranked No. 429 in the ATP rankings, Svajda will look to turn his wild card opportunity into a breakthrough in the Big Apple.

Woodland Hills’ Katrina Scott also earned a spot in the US Open qualifying draw through the American Collegiate Wild Card Playoffs while competing for the University of Tennessee. A seasoned professional, Scott has competed at all four Grand Slam events, including reaching the second round of the US Open main draw at just 16 years old in 2020. She has also captured four professional singles titles and one doubles title.

Scott joined the Vols this year to experience the team environment while continuing to develop as a player, student, and person. She will open this year’s campaign against 2025 San Diego SoCal Pro Series champion Katie Swan from the United Kingdom.

SoCal Pro Series Alumni in the Big Apple  

Adding another compelling storyline to the draw is Andre Ilagan, the 2023 Lakewood SoCal Pro Series champion and former University of Hawai‘i standout. The son of Filipino immigrants, Ilagan earned one of nine wild cards into US Open qualifying as the runner up in the 2026 US Open Wild Card Challenge, becoming the first Rainbow Warrior men’s tennis player to compete at the US Open. Now ranked a career high No. 210 in the world, Ilagan will make his Grand Slam qualifying debut against Altadena native Tristan Boyer.

This will be Boyer’s fourth US Open appearance, and he returns after a breakthrough run last year. The former Stanford standout received a wild card into the 2025 main draw, where he defeated James Duckworth to reach the second round before falling to No. 15 seed Andrey Rublev in four hard fought sets. Now, Boyer will look to battle through qualifying and earn another opportunity to make his mark in the US Open main draw.

Former University of San Diego standout and 2022 Rancho Santa Fe SoCal Pro Series champion August Holmgren is back for another shot at making his mark. The current No. 2 ranked player from Denmark returns for his second US Open qualifying appearance after making his debut last year. Holmgren’s run came to an early end when he fell to Pacific Beach’s Zach Svajda in the opening round, but he’ll have another opportunity to break through this year when he faces Italy’s Andrea Guerrieri in the first round of qualifying.

Pepperdine alumna Savannah Broadus, 23, is set to make her Grand Slam debut after receiving a wild card into the qualifying draw. The current World No. 307 brings an impressive resume into her first appearance at Flushing Meadows, having won the 2023 Lakewood SoCal Pro Series doubles title and finished as the 2024 NCAA Doubles runner up. She has also collected two singles and 10 doubles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

Broadus will face a formidable first round opponent in Tyra Caterina Grant, a 2025 Billie Jean King Cup champion with Italy who reached her first WTA 125 final at the 2026 Open delle Puglie. Grant is also a decorated junior doubles player, winning the girls’ doubles title at the 2023 French Open with Clervie Ngounoue and both the 2024 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles alongside Torrance’s Iva Jovic. She also reached the mixed doubles semifinals at the 2024 US Open.

At just 16 years old, Kristina Penickova is already making her mark on the professional stage. The Campbell, California native and former World No. 1 junior reached the 2026 Lakewood SoCal Pro Series final and received a wild card into US Open qualifying. Her twin sister, Annika Penickova, a former Top 20 ranked junior, also received a wild card into the qualifying draw, giving the sisters a unique opportunity to compete on the sport’s biggest stage together. Kristina will face Elizabeth Mandlik while Annika will take on Martyna Kubka.

2023 Lakewood SoCal Pro Series doubles champion Mary Stoiana, a former Texas A&M Aggies standout, is the No. 17 seed in the women’s qualifying draw, where she will compete against Harmony Tan from France for a place in the second round. 

Former SoCal Collegiate Players Making Waves

Former Pepperdine Wave Guy Den Ouden is looking to make his mark in US Open qualifying. The 24 year old Dutchman, who competed for the Waves in 2020 and 2021, has continued to climb the professional ranks since leaving Malibu, reaching a career high No. 147 in the ATP singles rankings. Currently ranked No. 215, Den Ouden opens qualifying against Argentina’s Genaro Alberto Olivieri, ranked No. 225. The two have met once before, with Den Ouden earning a victory in their 2024 semifinal meeting in Dobrich, Bulgaria.

From Orange to Flushing Meadows

Rounding out the Southern California contingent is Carson Branstine, an Orange native competing under the Canadian flag. Branstine enters qualifying after breaking through on the international stage over the past year. The former junior standout reached her first WTA 125 final in 2025, made her Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon and represented Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup. She also opened her 2026 Australian Open qualifying campaign with a win before retiring from her second round match with a shoulder injury. Now back in New York, Branstine will look to continue her climb. Her first obstacle? 2023 USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National champion Clervie Ngounoue.

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Find below the links to the 2026 US Open Men’s and Women’s Qualifying Singles draws and tune-in information.

– Men’s Qualifying Singles Draw
– Women’s Qualifying Singles Draw
– Where to Watch