After a tough battle lasting three sets, Guo Hanyu has kept her hopes alive for qualifying for the US Open.

It is well known that Grand Slam events are the highest level of tennis competitions. Because of this, even making it to the Grand Slam qualifiers is not an easy feat. For instance, You Xiaodi, who achieved her first Grand Slam qualifying victory last season, has seen her world ranking drop to over 330 this year, completely distancing herself from the Grand Slam qualifiers. With the US Open drawing near, the competition for qualifying spots is intensifying. So, which players still have a chance to qualify for the US Open this week? Let's explore this in today's article.

This week, Zheng Wushuang, Shi Han, and Guo Hanyu all appeared in the Challenger tournament. Prior to this, Zheng Wushuang had come close to qualifying for the Grand Slam on several occasions, but because she had previously reached the finals of both the Challenger and Hope tournaments, she still maintains her hopes of qualifying for the US Open. This week, Zheng Wushuang participated as the third seed in the Olomouc Challenger held in the Czech Republic. In the first round, facing the wildcard player, Czech L Petruzelova, she only allowed her opponent to win six games throughout the match. After a convincing victory, Zheng Wushuang is getting closer to the US Open qualifiers. However, her good fortune ended there. In the second round, she was swept out by the Turkish player Biyu Karkachai, who was ranked over a hundred places lower than her. Due to health reasons, she withdrew from the following week's competition. Thus, Zheng Wushuang is completely out of contention for the US Open qualifiers.

Last season, Shi Han, who won three championships and secured spots for this year's Australian Open and French Open qualifiers, has not performed well this year; she only reached the semifinals once at the Hope tournament held in New Zealand. This performance has pushed Shi Han further away from the Grand Slam qualifiers. Nevertheless, due to playing many matches and accumulating some points, she still holds hope of qualifying for the US Open. This week, Shi Han competed as the sixth seed. In the first round, her opponent was N Zeballos from Bolivia, and Shi Han won easily to advance. In the second round, facing the challenge from lucky loser R Gonzalez Vilar from Spain, she fought through three sets but ultimately lost in a tiebreak of the final set, missing out on advancing further, and the US Open qualifiers slipped away from her grasp.

Compared to Zheng Wushuang and Shi Han, Guo Hanyu is undoubtedly more well-known. In the 2023 season, she won the women's singles title at the University Games. However, Guo Hanyu has spent most of her time competing in doubles. This year, she shifted her focus to singles. Recently, Guo Hanyu won the Challenger title in Shenzhen.

This week, she competed as the seventh seed in the Victoria-Gasteiz Challenger held in Spain. In the first round, Guo Hanyu faced Czech player Martinkova. In this match, she battled her opponent to a deciding set, and after establishing a significant lead, her opponent was forced to retire. Thus, Guo Hanyu achieved a hard-fought victory.

In the second round, after winning the first set, she was pushed into a deciding set by German player G Dittmann. The final set was fiercely contested, but Guo Hanyu ultimately secured the win with a score of 7:5, keeping her hopes alive for qualifying for the US Open. That's the tennis story for today; stay tuned for more tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)