MASON, Ohio — Though the distribution of wild cards into the United States Open is often scrutinized, rarely have so many agreed that one player was treated unfairly by the United States Tennis Association.
Victoria Duval, the 19-year-old Floridian who was the breakout star of the tournament two years ago when she stunned the 2011 champion, Samantha Stosur, in the first round, was denied the entry she sought into the main draw. Instead, she will have to win in three preliminary qualifying rounds to qualify for the tournament, which starts Aug. 31.
Duval was in the field last year on the strength of her ranking, but she missed the tournament in order to have chemotherapy to treat lymphoma.