Shibahara, Joint, Sierra and more

Six players will break new ground at the 2024 US Open by contesting the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. Get to know them here.

Marina Bassols Ribera (ESP)

Marina Bassols Ribera’s rise has been characterized by patiently waiting to hit milestones. The Spaniard made her tour-level debut as a qualifier at Palermo 2021, but lost her first 12 WTA main draw matches — including four three-setters — before finally notching her first victory at this level in Iasi last month. In Grand Slams, she had fallen in qualifying on eight occasions before this week, including final-round losses at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2023.

Highlights: Teichmann d. Bassols Ribera, 2021 Palermo R1 | Bassols Ribera d. Coal, 2024 Iasi R1

However, the 24-year-old stormed through her ninth qualifying attempt without dropping a set, or even losing more than four games in any set. It’s a much-needed return to form for Bassols Ribera. After winning her first two WTA 125 titles last year, in Ljubljana and Andorra-la-Vella, she rose to the edge of the Top 100 this February at No.105 — only to be set back by a foot injury at the start of April that sidelined her for nearly two months.

Bassols Ribera trains at the Tennis Empowerment Center Carles Ferrer Salat in Barcelona, which aims to nurture a new generation of socially-conscious players, alongside fellow pros such as Kaja Juvan and Camila Osorio. In previous trophy ceremonies, she has shown her commitment to social issues by wearing T-shirts with slogans such as “Meritocracy without equal opportunity is a fallacy,” and “Let’s protect our planet, our future.” She’ll get the chance to make another statement when she takes on Wimbledon champion and No.8 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.

Maya Joint (AUS)

This time last year, Maya Joint was ranked No.1390. A former Top 20 junior, she had only one professional main-draw win under her belt, and the college route was beckoning: Joint has been accepted into the University of Texas to study psychology and criminology.

But the Michigan-raised Joint, who switched nationality to her father’s birthplace of Australia last May, headed Down Under last autumn to gain some more pro experience. Ever since, she hasn’t been able to stop winning. The 18-year-old is now at a career high of No.136.

Among the highlights of Joint’s 53-19 record in 2024? A run to the final round of Australian Open qualifying, where she took a set off eventual semifinalist Dayana Yastremska; ITF titles in Burnie and Santo Domingo; a maiden Top 100 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova at the Makarska WTA 125 in June; and a first WTA 125 final in Warsaw in July. This week, she qualified for her first US Open — and indeed first tour-level main draw — with victories over Maja Chwalinska, Iryna Shymanovich and Hailey Baptiste.

Despite Joint’s dazzling rise over the past 10 months, she could still be off to college after the US Open. But first, she’ll take on Laura Siegemund in the first round in her major-stage debut.

Iva Jovic (USA)

Iva Jovic, 16, will be the youngest player in the main draw of the US Open this year after earning a wild card with victory in the USTA’s U18 National Championships this month — a tournament she won without dropping a set, defeating Clervie Ngounoue and Valerie Glozman in the last two rounds.

Jovic, a California native born to Serbian immigrant parents, has excelled on the 2024 junior circuit, where she is currently ranked No.5. She is the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon girls’ doubles champion, alongside fellow American Tyra Caterina Grant, with whom she also reached the Roland Garros girls’ doubles final. Jovic also reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon girls’ singles event.

Jovic’s pro experience to date has been limited but impressive. She has only played nine professional tournaments so far, but reached at least the final in four of them (winning the Redding ITF W25 last October). This spring on the green clay ITF circuit, Jovic notched her first two Top 100 wins in consecutive weeks, defeating Kayla Day in both the Bonita Springs ITF W100 first round and then the Zephyrhills ITF W75 semifinals.

Unranked this time last year, Jovic is now at No.387. Her tour-level debut will be a clash of youth against experience as she takes on the 32-year-old former Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette in the first round.

Alexa Noel (USA)

A second American wild card who will be making her tour-level debut at the US Open is Alexa Noel, who earned her spot as this year’s NCAA singles champion. The 2019 Wimbledon junior runner-up, Noel’s college path started at the University of Iowa before she transferred to the University of Miami in 2022, where she majored in sociology with a minor in sports administration.

Though Noel has collected one pro title, at a Cancun ITF W15 in 2020, her recent pro experience is limited. The 21-year-old has only played nine tournaments over the last two years and is ranked No.784. She will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round at Flushing Meadows.

Ena Shibahara (JPN)

Between 2019 and 2023, Ena Shibahara carved out a place for herself at the very top of the WTA doubles game. Alongside Japanese compatriot Shuko Aoyama, she won 10 titles, including two at WTA 1000 level, as well as reaching the 2023 Australian Open final and winning the 2022 Roland Garros mixed title with Wesley Koolhof. Shibahara got as high as No.4 in the world, and in 2021 competed at both the Tokyo Olympic Games and the WTA Finals Guadalajara.

But Shibahara, 26, still harbored ambitions in singles. This year, she took the risk of focusing on building her singles ranking up, grinding through the ITF World Tour while reducing her doubles schedule. This decision has paid off. Shibahara started the year at No.548 and has worked her way up to a career high of No.218 this week after compiling a 39-14 overall record.

Highlights: Raducanu d. Shibahara, 2024 Nottingham R1 | Shibahara d. Korpatsch, 2024 Prague R1

That includes her first professional singles title at the Spring ITF W35 in February, and a first WTA singles victory over Tamara Korpatsch in Prague last month. Shibahara was the last direct acceptance into US Open qualifying, and made full use of the opportunity, battling through three-setters against Katarina Zavatska and Arianne Hartono to make the main draw.

Shibahara will open her first Grand Slam singles campaign against Daria Saville, with the chance to potentially face World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.

Solana Sierra (ARG)

Argentinian tennis has shown signs of resurgence this year, with both Maria Lourdes Carle and Julia Riera cracking the Top 100 in recent months. Not far behind them is 20-year-old Solana Sierra, who is at a career high of No.159 this week after winning 22 out of 24 matches since Wimbledon. That includes three ITF W35 titles in Getxo, Torino and Pilar, as well as a quarterfinal run at the Barranquilla WTA 125 two weeks ago.

Sierra’s success was foreshadowed by an excellent junior career that was highlighted by a run to the 2022 Roland Garros girls’ final — after defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova in the first round — and a peak ranking of No.7. In 2023, she cut her year-end ranking from No.464 to No.212 after compiling a 58-23 record, including her first Top 50 victory over Emma Navarro at the Florianopolis WTA 125.

This week, Sierra’s grit was on full display as she navigated her way through Grand Slam qualifying for the first time. In the second round, she eked past Ella Seidel 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; and in the final round, escaped Usue Maitane Arconada 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 after trailing by a set and 4-0. As a result, Sierra will make her tour-level debut when she faces Tatjana Maria in the first round, with a potential second-round tilt against defending champion Coco Gauff on the line.

Previously:
Wimbledon 2024’s Grand Slam debuts: Todoni, Stakusic
Roland Garros 2024’s Grand Slam debuts: Carle, Riera, Sonmez and more
Australian Open 2024’s Grand Slam debuts: Korneeva, Timofeeva, Starodubtseva and more
US Open 2023’s Grand Slam debuts: Ngounoue, Prozorova, Crawley
Wimbledon 2023’s Grand Slam debuts: Naef, Bai, Bouzas Maneiro and more
Roland Garros 2023’s Grand Slam debuts: Mirra Andreeva, Waltert, Shymanovich
Australian Open 2023’s Grand Slam debuts: Shnaider, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Uchijima and more
US Open 2022’s Grand Slam debuts: Erika Andreeva, Stearns, Linda Fruhvirtova and more
Wimbledon 2022’s Grand Slam debuts: Yuan, Chwalinska, Pigossi and more
Roland Garros 2022’s Grand Slam debuts: Noskova, Niemeier, Selekhmeteva and more
Australian Open 2022’s Grand Slam debuts: Zheng Qinwen, Bronzetti, Cristian and more
US Open 2021’s Grand Slam debuts: Navarro, Bucsa, Krueger and more
Wimbledon 2021’s Grand Slam debuts: Raducanu, Burrage
Roland Garros 2021’s Grand Slam debuts: Osorio, Liang, Gorgodze and more
Australian Open 2021’s Grand Slam debuts: Danilovic, Jones
Roland Garros 2020’s Grand Slam debuts: Tauson, Sherif, Rakhimova and more
US Open 2020’s Grand Slam debuts: Gracheva, Montgomery, Baptiste and more
Australian Open 2020’s Grand Slam debuts: Fernandez, Trevisan, Cocciaretto and more
US Open 2019’s Grand Slam debuts: Wang Xiyu, Volynets, Bolkvadze
Wimbledon 2019’s Grand Slam debuts: Gauff, McNally, Flink
Roland Garros 2019’s Grand Slam debuts: Rybakina, Samsonova, Paolini and more
Australian Open 2019’s Grand Slam debuts: Swiatek, Badosa, Veronika Kudermetova and more
US Open 2018’s Grand Slam debuts: Muchova, Yastremska, Kalinina and more
Wimbledon 2018’s Grand Slam debuts: Ruse, Dart, Lapko and more
Roland Garros 2018’s Grand Slam debuts: Krejcikova, Dolehide, Jakupovic and more
Australian Open 2018’s Grand Slam debuts: Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Wang Xinyu and more