Clijsters, Bellis secure US Open wildcards

NEW YORK, NY, USA - Former US Open champion and World No.1 Kim Clijsters heads the list of eight women receiving wild cards for the 2020 US Open.

Clijsters also received wild cards into the Western & Southern Open, which will be held immediately preceding the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The Belgian will be looking to repeat her magic from the 2009 US Open, when she famously won the women's singles title as a wildcard after returning from an initial retirement, during which she became a mother. She would later become the first mother in WTA history to hold the World No.1 ranking.

The three-time US Open champion (2005, 2009-10) came out of a more than seven-year retirement earlier in 2020, and will be playing the US Open for the first time since she stepped away from the game following the 2012 tournament. She is currently unranked, having played just two matches earlier this season at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey before the WTA tour was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seven American women also received wild cards: Usue Arconada, CiCi Bellis, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Caroline Dolehide, Ann Li, Robin Montgomery and Whitney Osuigwe.

Bellis, 21, became an instant star as a 15-year-old wild card at the 2014 US Open, when she defeated No.12 seed Dominika Cibulkova to notch her first major win. She makes her return to the US Open field for the first time since 2017, with wrist and elbow injuries plaguing her in recent years.

In her most recent Grand Slam appearance, she upset No.22 seed and 2019 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Karolina Muchova - her best major result in nearly three years.

Click here to learn more about the wildcard entrants who will feature in main draw action at the US Open.