2018 Australian Open – Main draw wildcard entries

2018 Australian Open – Main draw wildcard entries
2018 Australian Open – Main draw wildcard entries
Date	November 2017 – January 2018
Edition	106th
Category	Grand Slam (ITF)
Location	(various) United States; Zhuhai, Guangdong, China; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The 2018 Australian Open wildcard playoffs and entries are a group of events and internal selections to choose the eight men and eight women singles wildcard entries for the 2018 Australian Open, as well as seven male and seven female doubles teams plus eight mixed-doubles teams.

Wildcard entries

Men's singles

Country	Name	Method of Qualification
USA	Tim Smyczek	American Wildcard Challenge
KOR	Kwon Soon-woo	Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff
FRA	Corentin Moutet	French internal selection
AUS	Alex De Minaur	Australian Wildcard Playoff
AUS	Thanasi Kokkinakis	Australian internal selection
AUS	Alex Bolt	Australian internal selection
AUS	Jason Kubler	Australian internal selection
AUS	Alexei Popyrin	Australian internal selection

Women's singles

Country	Name	Method of Qualification
USA	Kristie Ahn^[a]	American Wildcard Challenge
CHN	Wang Xinyu	Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff
FRA	Jessika Ponchet	French internal selection
AUS	Destanee Aiava	Australian Wildcard Playoff
AUS	Olivia Rogowska	Australian Wildcard Challenge
AUS	Jaimee Fourlis	Australian 18/U Championships
AUS	Ajla Tomljanović^[b]	Australian internal selection
AUS	Lizette Cabrera	Australian internal selection

Men's doubles

Country	Name	Method of Qualification
THA THA	Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana	Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff
AUS AUS	Sam Groth Lleyton Hewitt	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Alex Bolt Bradley Mousley	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Alex de Minaur James Duckworth	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Matthew Ebden John Millman	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Thanasi Kokkinakis Jordan Thompson	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Max Purcell Luke Saville	Australian internal selection

Women's doubles

Country	Name	Method of Qualification
CHN CHN	Jiang Xinyu Tang Qianhui	Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff
AUS AUS	Alison Bai Zoe Hives	Australian Wildcard Challenge
AUS AUS	Astra Sharma Belinda Woolcock	Australian Wildcard Playoff
AUS AUS	Naiktha Bains Isabelle Wallace	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Kimberly Birrell Jaimee Fourlis	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Priscilla Hon Ajla Tomljanović	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Jessica Moore Ellen Perez	Australian internal selection

Mixed doubles

Country	Name	Method of Qualification
AUS AUS	Monique Adamczak Matthew Ebden	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Lizette Cabrera Alex Bolt	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Zoe Hives Bradley Mousley	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Priscilla Hon Matt Reid	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Ellen Perez Andrew Whittington	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Arina Rodionova John-Patrick Smith	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Storm Sanders Marc Polmans	Australian internal selection
AUS AUS	Samantha Stosur Sam Groth	Australian internal selection

US Wildcard Challenge

The USTA awarded a wildcard to the man and woman that earned the most ranking points across a group of three ATP/Challenger hardcourt events in the October and November 2017. For the men, the events included ATP Paris, $75K Canberra, $75K Charlottesville, $75K+H Shenzhen, €106K+H Bratislava, €85K+H Mouilleron-le-Captif, $50K+H Kobe, $75K Knoxville, $75K Champaign and $50K+H Pune events. For the women, the events included $80K Macon, $80K Tyler and $80K Waco. Only the best two results from the three weeks of challengers were taken into account with the winners being Tim Smyczek and Taylor Townsend.^[a]

Men's standings

Place	Player	ATP Paris Canberra Charlottesville Shenzhen	Bratislava Mouilleron-le-Captif Kobe Knoxville	Champaign Pune	Best Two Results^[1]
1	Tim Smyczek	80	15	80	160
2	Denis Kudla	15	48	—	63
	Tennys Sandgren	48	—	15	63
	Bjorn Fratangelo	7	15	48	63
5	Taylor Fritz	—	15	29	44

Women's standings

Place	Player	Macon	Tyler	Waco	Best Two Results^[2]
1	~~Taylor Townsend~~	1	21	~~115~~	~~136~~
2	Kristie Ahn	1	115	1	116
3	Sofia Kenin	1	42	42	84
4	Victoria Duval	70	10	1	80
4	Danielle Collins	10	70	—	80

Australian Women's Wildcard Challenge

Tennis Australia awarded a singles wildcard and a doubles wildcard to the Australian women that earned the most ranking points across a group of two ITF hardcourt events in the October and November 2017. The events included the 2017 Canberra Tennis International and the 2017 Bendigo Women's International. The winners of the wildcards were Olivia Rogowska, and Alison Bai and Zoe Hives, respectively.

Singles standings

Place	Player	Canberra	Bendigo	Total Points
1	Olivia Rogowska	80	48	128
2	Destanee Aiava	48	8	56
3	Alison Bai	29	1	30
4	Arina Rodionova	8	15	23
5	Tammi Patterson	1	15	16
	Sara Tomic	1	15	16
	Isabelle Wallace	1	15	16

Doubles standings

Place	Player	Canberra	Bendigo	Total Points
1	Alison Bai Zoe Hives	1	80	81
2	Jessica Moore Ellen Perez	48	29	77
3	Genevieve Lorbergs Isabelle Wallace	15	1	16
3	Astra Sharma Belinda Woolcock	1	15	16
5	Alexandra Bozovic Maddison Inglis	1	1	2
	Tammi Patterson Olivia Rogowska	1	1	2
	Gabriella Da Silva-Fick Storm Sanders	1	1	2

Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff

The Asia-Pacific Australian Open Wildcard Play-off featured 16-players in the men's and women's singles draws and took place from 29 November to 3 December 2017 at Hengqin International Tennis Centre in Zhuhai, China.

Men's singles

Seeds

Kwon Soon-woo (winner)
Zhang Ze (quarterfinals, withdrew)
Yusuke Takahashi (quarterfinals)
Li Zhe (final)
Yang Tsung-hua (first round)
Sumit Nagal (first round)
Zhang Zhizhen (semifinals)
Hiroki Moriya (semifinals)

Draw

First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final

1	S-w Kwon	7	6
Q	L Zhao	5	1		1	S-w Kwon	w/o
5	T-h Yang	4	7	4	Q	V Vardhan
Q	V Vardhan	6	5	6						1	S-w Kwon	6	6
3	Y Takahashi	6	6							8	H Moriya	1	1
WC	Xia Zihao	1	1		3	Y Takahashi	6	3	5
8	H Moriya	7	6		8	H Moriya	3	6	7
	S Balaji	5	0												1	S-w Kwon	6	6
Q	J Karimov	7	6												4	Z Li	1	1
6	S Nagal	5	4		Q	J Karimov	3	1
Q	Yo Watanuki	3	2		4	Z Li	6	6
4	Z Li	6	6							4	Z Li	4	6	6
WC	Wu Hao	4	2							7	Zh Zhang	6	4	4
7	Zh Zhang	6	6		7	Zh Zhang	w/o
WC	W Trongcharoenchaikul	5	4		2	Ze Zhang
2	Ze Zhang	7	6

Women's singles

Seeds

Misaki Doi (semifinals)
Lu Jingjing (semifinals)
Junri Namigata (first round)
Miharu Imanishi (first round)
Gao Xinyu (quarterfinals)
Chang Kai-chen (quarterfinals)
Ayano Shimizu (first round)
Hiroko Kuwata (first round)

Draw

First round					Quarterfinals				Semifinals					Final

1	M Doi	6	7⁷
Q	E Sema	1	6³		1	M Doi	6	6
6	K-c Chang	6	6		6	K-c Chang	3	2
Q	A Omae	3	3						1	M Doi	6	4	3
4	M Imanishi	2	7	1					WC	Xin Wang	1	6	6
WC	Xin Wang	6	5	6	WC	Xin Wang	6	6
8	H Kuwata	7	3	2	Q	X Sun	2	1
Q	X Sun	5	6	6										WC	Xin Wang	4	7	6
	M Inoue	6	6											WC	A Tere-Apisah	6	5	4
7	A Shimizu	3	2			M Inoue	3	4
WC	A Tere-Apisah	6	6		WC	A Tere-Apisah	6	6
3	J Namigata	2	1						WC	A Tere-Apisah	6	6
WC	F Xun	5	6	6²					2	Jin Lu	1	1
5	X Gao	7	4	7⁷	5	X Gao	0	2
	R Sawayanagi	3^r			2	Jin Lu	6	6
2	Jin Lu	5

Men's doubles

Seeds

Sanchai Ratiwatana / Sonchat Ratiwatana (winners)
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan / Christopher Rungkat (final)
Sriram Balaji / Vishnu Vardhan (semifinals)
Toshihide Matsui / Yi Chu-huan (semifinals)

Draw

First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals				Final

					1	Sa Ratiwatana So Ratiwatana	6	6
	C-p Hsieh T-h Yang	6	6			C-p Hsieh T-h Yang	4	3
	H-y Peng Zh Zhang	4	4							1	Sa Ratiwatana So Ratiwatana	7⁹	6
										4	T Matsui C-h Yi	6⁴	1
					4	T Matsui C-h Yi	4	6	[10]
	M Gong Ze Zhang	6¹	6	[10]		M Gong Ze Zhang	6	3	[4]
	Wu Hao Xia Zihao	7⁷	3	[5]										1	Sa Ratiwatana So Ratiwatana	7⁸	6
WC	Du Ye Gao Qun	7⁹	2	[10]										2	J Nedunchezhiyan C Rungkat	6⁶	3
	S-w Kwon Z Li	6⁷	6	[6]		Y Du Q Gao	4	2
					3	S Balaji V Vardhan	6	6
										3	S Balaji V Vardhan	2	3
	H Moriya Y Takahashi	6	6							2	J Nedunchezhiyan C Rungkat	6	6
WC	Zheng Yanjie Zhou Xinmu	0	2			H Moriya Y Takahashi	6	3	[5]
					2	J Nedunchezhiyan C Rungkat	3	6	[10]

Women's doubles

Seeds

Lu Jingjing / Ye Qiuyu (semifinals)
Jiang Xinyu / Tang Qianhui (winners)
Chang Kai-chen / Hiroko Kuwata (quarterfinals)
Junri Namigata / Riko Sawayanagi (final)

Draw

First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final

					1	Jin Lu Q Ye	4	6	[10]
WC	Wang Jiaqi Zhou Keyi	3	3		WC	X Sun M Wang	6	3	[6]
WC	X Sun M Wang	6	6							1	Jin Lu Q Ye	2	6	[4]
										4	J Namigata R Sawayanagi	6	4	[10]
					4	J Namigata R Sawayanagi	6	6
	X Gao F Xun	3	3			M Inoue K Takahata	2	4
	M Inoue K Takahata	6	6												4	J Namigata R Sawayanagi	6	0	[4]
	M Imanishi A Omae	6	7⁷												2	X Jiang Q Tang	2	6	[10]
WC	B Gumulya J Rompies	2	6⁴			M Imanishi A Omae	7	6
					3	K-c Chang H Kuwata	5	4
											M Imanishi A Omae	6³	4
	E Sema A Tere-Apisah	6	3	[10]						2	X Jiang Q Tang	7⁷	6
WC	M Kobori A Shimizu	4	6	[7]		E Sema A Tere-Apisah	3	6	[7]
					2	X Jiang Q Tang	6	1	[10]

Australian Wildcard Playoff

The December Showdown is held annually for two weeks in December. The Showdown includes age championships for 12/u, 14/u, 16/u and 18/u age categories. It also hosts the 2018 Australian Wildcard Playoff which will be held from 11–17 December 2017 at Melbourne Park, offering a main draw singles wildcard for men and women and a main draw women's doubles wildcard. The winner of the girls' 18/u championship will also be given a main draw wildcard into the 2018 Australian Open.

Men's singles

Seeds

Alex Bolt (final)
Alex De Minaur (winner)
Andrew Whittington (quarterfinals)
Dayne Kelly (withdrew)
Omar Jasika (semifinals)
Maverick Banes (first round)
Bradley Mousley (first round)
Marc Polmans (semifinals)
Christopher O'Connell (quarterfinals)

Draw

First round							Quarterfinals							Semifinals						Final

1	A Bolt	6⁷	6	6	5	6
WC	Benard Nkomba	7⁹	2	4	7	2	1	A Bolt	6	6	6
WC	Alexander Crnokrak	6	1	6	6		WC	A Crnokrak	1	3	3
7	B Mousley	4	6	3	4									1	A Bolt	7⁷	6	7⁷
3	A Whittington	6⁷	7⁷	7⁷	1	6								8	M Polmans	6³	4	6⁴
WC	Gavin van Peperzeel	7⁹	6⁴	6⁵	6	4	3	A Whittington	6²	4	6	2
	L Saville	6⁴	6⁶	3			8	M Polmans	7⁷	6	4	6
8	M Polmans	7⁷	7⁸	6																1	A Bolt	2	4	7⁷	1
5	O Jasika	6	6	6																2	A De Minaur	6	6	6¹	6
Alt	Matthew Dellavedova	4	4	3			5	O Jasika	7⁷	3	6	4	6
WC	B Ellis	7⁷	4	3	4		9	C O'Connell	6²	6	1	6	4
9	C O'Connell	6⁴	6	6	6									5	O Jasika	6	1	2	0
6	M Banes	7⁷	3	3	6⁴									2	A De Minaur	3	6	6	6
Alt	M Barton	6⁴	6	6	7⁷		Alt	M Barton	2	1	2
	H Bourchier	2	0	1			2	A De Minaur	6	6	6
2	A De Minaur	6	6	6

Women's singles

Seeds

Arina Rodionova (semifinals)
Destanee Aiava (winner)
Tammi Patterson (final)
Kimberly Birrell (semifinals)
Naiktha Bains (quarterfinals)
Zoe Hives (quarterfinals)
Anastasia Rodionova (first round)
Olivia Tjandramulia (quarterfinals)

Draw

First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final

1	Ar Rodionova	7⁷	6
	S Tomic	6²	4		1	Ar Rodionova	6	0	6
	A Bai	5	6	6	8	O Tjandramulia	3	6	4
8	O Tjandramulia	7	4	8						1	Ar Rodionova	6	3	5
3	T Patterson	4	6	6						3	T Patterson	4	6	7
	M Haet	6	0	0	3	T Patterson	6	4	6
WC	B Woolcock	1	7⁷	3	5	N Bains	3	6	4
5	N Bains	6	6³	6											3	T Patterson	4	0
7	An Rodionova	3	3												2	D Aiava	6	6
WC	A Bozovic	6	6		WC	A Bozovic	4	1
WC	M Inglis	4	6	2	4	K Birrell	6	6
4	K Birrell	6	4	6						4	K Birrell	4	1
6	Z Hives	6	6							2	D Aiava	6	6
	A Sharma	3	4		6	Z Hives	2	7	0
WC	M Jovanovic	6	3	2	2	D Aiava	6	5	6
2	D Aiava	4	6	6

Women's doubles

Seeds

Jessica Moore / Ellen Perez (semifinals)
Destanee Aiava / Tammi Patterson (final)
Naiktha Bains / Sara Tomic (first round)
Astra Sharma / Belinda Woolcock (winners)

Draw

First round				Semifinals					Final

1	Jessica Moore Ellen Perez	6	6
	Masa Jovanovic Alexandra Walters	3	4	1	Jessica Moore Ellen Perez	5	6	[7]
4	Astra Sharma Belinda Woolcock	6	6	4	Astra Sharma Belinda Woolcock	7	4	[10]
WC	Olivia Gadecki Kaitlin Staines	4	3						4	Astra Sharma Belinda Woolcock	6	3	[10]
	Kimberly Birrell Jaimee Fourlis	6	7						2	Destanee Aiava Tammi Patterson	1	6	[3]
3	Naiktha Bains Sara Tomic	2	5		Kimberly Birrell Jaimee Fourlis	4	4
WC	Alexandra Bozovic Maddison Inglis	2	4	2	Destanee Aiava Tammi Patterson	6	6
2	Destanee Aiava Tammi Patterson	6	6

Girls' singles

Seeds

Destanee Aiava (final)
Jaimee Fourlis (winner)
Alexandra Bozovic (semifinals)
Gabriella Da Silva-Fick (quarterfinals)
Renee McBryde (quarterfinals)
Aleksa Cveticanin (round robin)
Laura Ashley (round robin)
Ivana Popovic (round robin)

Draw

Quarterfinals					Semifinals				Final

1	Destanee Aiava	6	6

5	Renee McBryde	2	3
					1	Destanee Aiava	6	6

						Amber Marshall	1	1
	Amber Marshall	1	6	6

4	Gabriella Da Silva-Fick	6	3	2
									1	Destanee Aiava	7⁷	6¹	5

									2	Jaimee Fourlis	6⁴	7⁷	7
3	Alexandra Bozovic	6	6

Q	Helena Spiridis	3	4
					3	Alexandra Bozovic	2	3

					2	Jaimee Fourlis	6	6
	Olivia Gadecki	2	2

2	Jaimee Fourlis	6	6

Notes

^ ^a ^b Taylor Townsend was the original winner for the US Wildcard Playoff Challenge. When she was directly entered into the main draw, Townsend was ineligible to place the Wildcard entry and therefore it was given to the runner-up, Kristie Ahn.
^ Victoria Azarenka originally received the Wildcard as she later withdrew due to family reasons, Ajla Tomljanović took her place in the Wildcard spot.

References

^ "2018 AUS Open WC Challenge - Men" (PDF). usta.com.
^ "2018 AUS Open WC Challenge - Women" (PDF). usta.com.

External links

[USTAWildcardTownsend-1] Taylor Townsend was the original winner for the US Wildcard Playoff Challenge. When she was directly entered into the main draw, Townsend was ineligible to place the Wildcard entry and therefore it was given to the runner-up, Kristie Ahn.

[Azarenka-2] Victoria Azarenka originally received the Wildcard as she later withdrew due to family reasons, Ajla Tomljanović took her place in the Wildcard spot.

[3] "2018 AUS Open WC Challenge - Men" (PDF). usta.com.

[4] "2018 AUS Open WC Challenge - Women" (PDF). usta.com.

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