Chungnam Province announced on Monday that Lee Young-seo, a player affiliated with the provincial office, has secured a wild card entry into the women’s singles main draw of the 2026 US Open, marking her debut in a major tournament.
According to provincial officials, Lee, currently ranked 165th in women’s professional tennis singles, topped the final standings of the US Open Wild Card Challenge with 174 points. The challenge results were confirmed on August 13.
Lee outperformed Caroline Dolehide (122 points) and Elvina Kalieva (120 points) to clinch the top spot, earning direct entry into the main draw without having to go through qualifying rounds.
The US Open Wild Card Challenge is a system that awards a main draw wild card to the American player who accumulates the highest score from their top three results in W35 or higher hard court tournaments over a four-week period.
The US Open, held in the U.S., is one of the four prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
This season, Lee has been making strides on the Grand Slam stage. She reached the qualifying finals at the Australian Open in January but was eliminated in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon.
Last month, Lee broke through qualifying at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 250 Prague Open to claim her first tour-level win. In August, she captured her maiden WTA 125 title at the Warsaw Open in Poland.
This recent surge in form allowed Lee to boost her challenge points, ultimately securing the top spot and earning her first major main draw appearance in her debut season with the US Open wild card.
The US Open will finalize ranking seeds based on today’s standings, conduct the draw on August 27, and commence main draw matches on August 30.
Born in Saipan in 2001, Lee has also competed internationally under the name Carol Young Seo Lee.
She began her professional career in South Korea by joining the Korea Expressway Corporation team in 2024. This year, she’s representing the Chungnam Provincial Office.
A provincial spokesperson stated that it’s proud that a player from our province has reached the main draw of a major tournament. It will continue to elevate Chungnam’s athletic reputation through talent discovery and systematic support for the athletes.