A dozen Aussies included in US Open main draw; Kyrgios activates protected ranking

Alex de Minaur will enter the US Open as Australia's top-ranked singles player. (Getty/Mike Hewitt)

A total of 12 Australians have secured direct entry into the US Open main draw.

The final Grand Slam of the year commences on August 24.

World No.12 Alex de Minaur is set to lead the charge on the men's side yet again, as he aims to reach back-to-back quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows. At the same time, Alexei Popyrin hopes to put an underwhelming 2025 to the side in a bid to make new memories in New York after defeating Novak Djokovic in the third-round last year.

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31-year-old Jordan Thompson miraculously made the fourth-round at Wimbledon last week, but has since flown back to Sydney to recover following a back injury that required him to wear a brace throughout the tournament.

It will mark one year since Thompson won the US Open doubles title alongside Max Purcell.

Other Aussie men include Christopher O'Connell (No.77), Rinky Hijikata (No.80), Aleksandar Vukic (No.90) and Adam Walton (No.97).

2022 quarter-finalist Nick Kyrgios is also part of the singles entry list after opting to activate his protected ranking (No.21).

Kyrgios, 30, hasn't played on the Tour since the Miami Open in March, and has plummeted to 640th in the world due to injury setbacks.

Meanwhile, the women's section is guaranteed four Aussies in the main draw, with Daria Kasatkina cementing a top-32 seed.

19-year-old Maya Joint is also on the cusp of becoming a seed after earning a career-high ranking of No.37.

Joint made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2024 US Open where she exited in the second-round.

Kimberly Birrell (No.75) and Ajla Tomljanović (No.81) complete the field for the green and gold.

The entry list for the men's and women's doubles is expected to be released in two weeks.

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