New York • Stan Wawrinka never got to defend his 2016 U.S. Open title, forced to miss last year’s tournament because of a knee injury that dropped him far down the rankings.
Wawrinka and former women’s No. 1 Victoria Azarenka received wild cards Tuesday for the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. So did Svetlana Kuznetsova, another U.S. Open champion.
Wawrinka’s ranking has fallen from No. 3 to No. 151 after he needed two left knee surgeries that have limited him to just 21 matches on tour this season. The three-time Grand Slam champion reached the round of 16 last week at the Rogers Cup in Toronto before falling to top-ranked Rafael Nadal, and beat 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Monday.