Cruz Hewitt has ticked off a new milestone in his tennis career after being awarded a qualifying wildcard for the Washington Open.
Off the back of making the final in the Wimbledon boys draw earlier this month, the 17-year-old has the chance to make the main draw at an ATP Tour tournament for the first time.
17-year-old Cruz Hewitt has played his last junior tournament. Getty Images
The Masters 500 qualifying event will mark Hewitt’s first match on the men’s tour in the United States, having only received wildcards above the ATP Challenger and ITF circuits on home soil.
Jordan Lee, the 16-year-old who denied the Australian from claiming the Wimbledon boys’ title, also received a wildcard for the qualifying event.
The official tournament social media accounts posted the pair’s wildcard announcement with the caption “the future is here”.
The qualifying event will be Hewitt’s best chance to climb the world rankings, currently sitting at 615, and get one step closer to a place in the main draw at the 2027 Australian Open.
The son of Australian great Lleyton Hewitt told reporters after his Wimbledon final loss that his goal was to play at his home grand slam next year.
He added that the Wimbledon final may be his last-ever junior boys tournament.
Hewitt’s first qualifying match will take place on Saturday. There are eight wildcard spots up for grabs in that tournament. The main draw starts Monday.
The rising star will not be the only Australian present at the Washington Open, if he is to qualify, with Alex de Minaur returning to defend his singles title.
The likes of Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti and Tommy Paul are all named in the singles draw. Jack Draper, Ben Shelton and Stefanos Tsitsipas received wildcards.
Nick Kyrgios has also announced that he will team up with America’s Francis Tiafoe to compete in the men’s doubles draw at the Washington Open.