Rafael Nadal uses protected ranking of nine to feature in main draw of US Open

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal features on the main draw entry list for the upcoming 2024 US Open. The southpaw has used his protected ranking of nine to qualify for the main draw.

Nadal missed three of the last four editions of the US Open due to injury and the last time he played in New York was in 2022. He lost to Frances Tiafoe in the round-of-16 in 2022.

The southpaw, who is making a slow and steady comeback after a spate of injuries, is in the twilight of his career. He played his first singles match since the French Open first round match and beat Leo Borg 6-3, 6-4 at the Nordea Open.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner is one among the 14 players to cement a main-draw spot at the US Open with a protected ranking.

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, the world number ones in men’s singles and women’s singles respectively, are the top seeds for the season’s last Grand Slam. Sinner won the Australian Open earlier this year while Swiatek won the French Open in June.

Defending champions and world number twos Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff are seeded second in the tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, could cap off a wonderful year if he manages to win the US Open too. For the record, Nadal was the last player to win all three – French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles – in one year (2010). Alcaraz won the US Open in 2022.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, the 2023 US Open runner-up who missed Wimbledon due to injury, and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova are also in the fray.

The US Open will have 16 wild cards in the main draw – eight in men’s singles and as many in the women’s singles – apart from 16 wild card qualifiers each.

The US Open begins at the Flushing Meadows in New York on August 26.