By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Photo credit: Scott Kisner/Wick Photography
The road to Flushing Meadows goes through Winston-Salem for Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Two-time major finalist Tsitsipas and Aussie teenager Cruz Hewitt, son of Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt, have each been award wild cards into next week’s Winston-Salem Open.
This will be the 12-time ATP Tour champion Tsitsipas’ second appearance in Winston-Salem, while Hewitt will make his Winston-Salem debut for just his second ATP main draw appearance of his career.
“It’s great to welcome Stefanos Tsitsipas back to Winston-Salem after he quickly became a fan favorite at last year’s tournament,” said Tournament Director Jeff Ryan. “We’re also looking forward to rising star Cruz Hewitt making his Winston-Salem debut, with both players joining an already strong field for this year’s tournament.”
Tsitsipas reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3 in 2021 and has finished runner-up at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open. He has one title to his name so far in 2026 with a win at the ATP 250 EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in July.
The 17-year-old Hewitt is having a breakout season highlighted by reaching the Wimbledon boys’ singles final and claiming his first career ATP Tour main draw win at the DC Open. That win propelled him to a career-high singles ranking of No. 370 (currently ranked No. 376).
Tsitsipas and Cruz join a number of top 50 stars set to compete at this year’s event including World No. 20 Luciano Darderi, Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery, and former World No. 10 Denis Shapovalov. The full player field can be viewed here, with remaining spots to be filled by wild cards and winners of the Winston-Salem Open qualifying tournament.
The 2026 Winston-Salem Open will run from August 22-29. All Tickets & Packages are available now at winstonsalemopen.com/tickets.
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