US Open 2026: Harriet Dart, Toby Samuel, Francesca Jones & Harry Wendelken qualify for main draw
• 3 minute read
A record-breaking four British players have qualified for the US Open main draw after Harriet Dart, Toby Samuel, Francesca Jones and Harry Wendelken all won their final qualifying matches at Flushing Meadows.
It marks the first time four Britons have come through qualifying at a Grand Slam outside Wimbledon since the Australian Open in 1988.
They join Katie Boulter, Cam Norrie, Arthur Fery and Jan Choinski, who received direct entry into the singles draws at Flushing Meadows, which begins on Sunday 30 August.
All four players were scheduled to contest their final qualifying matches on Thursday before rain suspended play for the day.
Samuel was the only one to secure his place on Thursday after Chilean Cristian Garin retired while trailing 4-6, 6-4, 5-0 during a rain delay.
Wendelken soon followed after returning to court on Friday to complete his match against Vilius Gaubas, where he edged a hard-fought 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory. Like Samuel, Wendelken will now make his main draw debut in New York.
In the women’s draw, an all-British battle saw Dart come out on top against Billie Jean King Cup teammate Heather Watson - winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, before Jones rounded off a successful day for the Brits with a clinical 6-4, 6-1 win over Joanna Garland to reach the main draw at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.
Samuel came back from a set down in his first two qualifying matches against Francesco Maestrelli and Britain’s Billy Harris to reach the final round and set up a clash against Garin.
Samuel once again fought back from a set down to force a decider and sprinted ahead to a 5-0 lead before a second rain delay halted play. During the delay, Garin chose to retire from the match, granting Samuel a place in the main draw of the US Open for the first time in his career.
Samuel will now compete in his third consecutive Grand Slam main draw, after receiving a wild card at Wimbledon and successfully qualifying for Roland Garros earlier this year.
Friday’s action also saw Wendelken return to complete an epic comeback against the 14th seeded Lithuanian.
The 24-year-old had already saved match points in his second round victory over Remy Bertola and again showed his resilience by recovering from a set down to seal a gritty win.
It marks another milestone for Wendelken, who has sealed a place in the main draw of a major on his own merit for the first time. He made his Grand Slam debut as a wild card at Wimbledon last month, where he fell to France's Valentin Royer in four sets.
One of the standout matches of the day saw Dart overturn a one set deficit to defeat compatriot Watson in two hours and 18 minutes.
Watson broke the world No.131 three times in the opening set to edge ahead, before Dart levelled the scoreboard after a turbulent second set to force the decider.
With the momentum firmly in her favour, Dart reeled off five consecutive games to seal victory and a place in the main draw for the first time since 2024.
She’ll be joined by Jones who needed just an hour and 14 minutes to reach the main draw in New York for the second year in a row.
It was an impressive performance from the British No.3, who dropped just six points behind serve throughout her clash against world No.201 Garland.
Jones arrived on the hard courts in excellent form, having picked up back to back WTA 125 titles in Rome and Palermo and will be hoping to continue her winning streak in New York.
Jacob Fearnley was also bidding to join his compatriots in the main draw, but fell short against Jurij Rodionov 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The British quartet will have to wait until all qualifying matches have been completed to find out who they will face in the first round of the US Open.
How to watch the US Open 2026?
You can watch all the Brits in action at the 2026 US Open live and exclusively on Sky Sports Tennis and Now TV.
