ORLANDO, Fla. – Auburn junior DJ Bennett and graduate student Ava Hrastar have been selected to participate in the US Open Wild Card Playoffs, the United States Tennis Association announced Wednesday. Bennett is one of four players in the women’s singles field, while she and Hrastar are one of four teams selected for the doubles competition.
The USTA’s newly announced event, featuring top American collegiate players, aims to more than double the average number of college athletes receiving US Open wild cards. A total of six wild card entries are guaranteed. Winners of the singles and doubles competitions will earn main draw wild cards for the US Open, while the men’s and women’s singles runners-up will receive wild cards into the qualifying draw.
Competing for spots in the @usopen 🇺🇸
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 28, 2025
DJ Bennett and Ava Hrastar will both participate in the @usta US Open Wild Card Playoffs! 🏟️
📰 https://t.co/3jEDIdcQ2d pic.twitter.com/uWYsTDhBb8
Bennett automatically qualified for the singles draw through her performance at the NCAA Singles Championship in November. She and Hrastar were selected for the doubles field by a committee made up of USTA staff, college coaches and an ITA representative.
Bennett earned first-team All-SEC honors this season after posting a 27-10 overall singles record and a 15-6 mark in dual matches, playing primarily at the top of Auburn’s lineup. She recorded 15 wins over ranked opponents, including No. 2 Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M, No. 8 Valerie Glozman of Stanford and No. 11 Celia-Belle Mohr of Vanderbilt. Bennett remained in the top five of the ITA singles rankings throughout the spring and finished the season ranked No. 3.
Bennett and Hrastar also anchored the Tigers’ doubles lineup in 2025, finishing the year with a 19-11 overall record. The pair made program history in November by becoming just the second Auburn team to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship. They ended the season ranked No. 11 in the ITA national doubles rankings.
The US Open Wild Card Playoffs will take place June 16–18 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. Singles semifinals will be played Monday, followed by doubles semifinals on Tuesday. All finals will be held Wednesday. Matches will be streamed on the USTA National Campus website.
The full fields are below (bolded players automatically qualified):
Women’s Singles
DJ Bennett (Auburn)
Valerie Glozman (Stanford)
Amelia Honer (UCSB)
Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M)
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)
Arizona’s Colton Smith was originally included in the field for men’s singles but he declined the invitation.