Olivia Center (left) and Kate Fakih
Photo by: Hritika Chaturvedi
Center/Fakih to Compete for Spot in US Open
May 28, 2025 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. โ The UCLA women's tennis freshman doubles tandem of Olivia Center and Kate Fakih will compete in the inaugural US Open Wild Card Playoffs, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced Wednesday. The event will be held at the USTA National Campus from June 16-18.
The new event featuring the top American collegiate players, which was announced earlier this month, will more than double the average number of American collegiate players that earn US Open wild cards this year, with six guaranteed US Open wild card entries up for grabs. The winners of the singles and doubles competitions will earn US Open main draw singles and doubles wild cards, respectively, while the men's and women's singles finalists will earn US Open qualifying wild cards.
Center and Fakih teamed to make a splash early in their debut season. The pair won the ITA West Sectional Championships doubles title, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships doubles tournament. There, Center/Fakih won four matches in four days to reach the championship match and claim its US Open Wild Card Playoff spot. Center/Fakih went on to finish 31-9 (17-6 in dual-match play) and climbed to No. 2 in the ITA doubles rankings before finishing at No. 13. The duo clinched a team-high nine doubles points and went 13-6 opposite ranked pairs.
Prior to their time at UCLA, Center and Fakih partnered to capture the Girls' 18 doubles title at the 2023 USTA Billie Jean King National Championships in San Diego and gain entry into that year's US Open women's main draw.
The singles semifinals will be played on Monday followed by the doubles semifinals on Tuesday and all finals will be contested on Wednesday. The event is free and matches will begin each day at 5 p.m. in order to maximize in-person attendance, while all matches will also be streamed on the USTA National Campus website.
The full fields are below (bolded players automatically qualified):
Men's Singles
Ozan Baris (Michigan State)
Stefan Dostanic (Wake Forest)
Aidan Kim (Ohio State)
Michael Zheng (Columbia)
Women's Singles
DJ Bennett (Auburn)
Valerie Glozman (Stanford)
Amelia Honer (UC Santa Barbara)
Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M)
Men's Doubles
Benjamin Kittay/Gavin Young (Michigan)
Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno (Tennessee)
Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (Columbia)
Cooper Williams/Theo Winegar (Duke)
Women's Doubles
DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (Auburn)
Reese Brantmeier/Alanis Hamilton (North Carolina)
Kaitlyn Carnicella/Sarah Hamner/ (South Carolina)
Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA)
The new event featuring the top American collegiate players, which was announced earlier this month, will more than double the average number of American collegiate players that earn US Open wild cards this year, with six guaranteed US Open wild card entries up for grabs. The winners of the singles and doubles competitions will earn US Open main draw singles and doubles wild cards, respectively, while the men's and women's singles finalists will earn US Open qualifying wild cards.
Center and Fakih teamed to make a splash early in their debut season. The pair won the ITA West Sectional Championships doubles title, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships doubles tournament. There, Center/Fakih won four matches in four days to reach the championship match and claim its US Open Wild Card Playoff spot. Center/Fakih went on to finish 31-9 (17-6 in dual-match play) and climbed to No. 2 in the ITA doubles rankings before finishing at No. 13. The duo clinched a team-high nine doubles points and went 13-6 opposite ranked pairs.
Prior to their time at UCLA, Center and Fakih partnered to capture the Girls' 18 doubles title at the 2023 USTA Billie Jean King National Championships in San Diego and gain entry into that year's US Open women's main draw.
The singles semifinals will be played on Monday followed by the doubles semifinals on Tuesday and all finals will be contested on Wednesday. The event is free and matches will begin each day at 5 p.m. in order to maximize in-person attendance, while all matches will also be streamed on the USTA National Campus website.
The full fields are below (bolded players automatically qualified):
Men's Singles
Ozan Baris (Michigan State)
Stefan Dostanic (Wake Forest)
Aidan Kim (Ohio State)
Michael Zheng (Columbia)
Women's Singles
DJ Bennett (Auburn)
Valerie Glozman (Stanford)
Amelia Honer (UC Santa Barbara)
Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M)
Men's Doubles
Benjamin Kittay/Gavin Young (Michigan)
Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno (Tennessee)
Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (Columbia)
Cooper Williams/Theo Winegar (Duke)
Women's Doubles
DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (Auburn)
Reese Brantmeier/Alanis Hamilton (North Carolina)
Kaitlyn Carnicella/Sarah Hamner/ (South Carolina)
Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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