Rick Macci Protégés Sofia Kenin, Darwin Blanch Land US Open Wild Cards
Aug 23, 2026
Two players who grew up learning the game under legendary tennis coach Rick Macci are heading into the 2026 US Open main draw.
The USTA just announced that 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin received the final women’s singles main draw wild card, while 18-year-old Boca Raton native Darwin Blanch was awarded a men’s wild card that had previously been given to Martin Damm.
For Macci, both selections hit close to home.
Photo credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kenin grew up in Pemobroke Pines and began working with Macci when she was just 5 years old and trained with him until age 12. Long before she became a Grand Slam champion and reached No. 4 in the world, Macci saw something different in the fiercely competitive youngster.
He still does.
“Sofia can beat anybody anytime anywhere and if she gets a little confidence she can get on a tear,” Macci told Florida Tennis after learning she was headed back to Flushing Meadows.
Photo credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Macci believes the biggest variable for Kenin isn't the tennis. It's belief.
“With Sofia, it’s all about one thing: confidence,” Macci said. “She has the game. She understands the geometry of the court like no other.”
Blanch’s connection with Macci runs nearly as deep. Macci began working with the left-hander at age 6 and has followed his development from a tennis-obsessed South Florida kid into one of the most intriguing young Americans in the professional game.
Photo courtesy of the Blanch Family.
Blanch dreamed about playing on tennis’ biggest American stage almost from the beginning.
“Darwin dreamed of playing the US Open since age 8,” Macci told Florida Tennis. “Let’s see if he can find magic in a bottle in the Big Apple.”
Blanch already knows what the US Open main draw feels like. In 2025, he won the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo to earn his first main-draw wild card, becoming just the second player this century to capture both the Boys’ 16s and 18s national singles titles.
Photo courtesy of the Blanch Family.
Macci has long considered Blanch one of his favorite students and has been particularly bullish on the weapons that could ultimately determine how far he goes as a professional.
For a coach whose Florida courts have helped shape everyone from Venus and Serena Williams to Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick and Kenin, the 2026 US Open offers another glimpse at the reach of the Macci coaching tree.
And this time, two of his protégés will arrive in New York carrying wild cards — and very different opportunities to make some noise.
The 2026 US Open singles main draw begins August 30 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.
By Florida Tennis Staff. Sources: US Open; USTA Public Relations; Rick Macci; Florida Tennis: Rick Macci Analysis — Sofia Kenin; Florida Tennis: Rick Macci on Darwin Blanch. Image credit (top): US Open.
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