UNC, Duke tennis players earn wild card berths to U.S. Open

After overcoming personal adversity and match deficits, North Carolina women’s tennis’ Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton will head to New York in August to compete at the U.S. Open doubles tournament.

The UNC doubles pair defeated Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ava Hrastar in a third set tiebreaker on Thursday afternoon in Orlando, Florida in the finals of the American Collegiate Wildcard Playoffs.

On the men’s side, Duke’s Cooper Williams and Theo Winegar clinched their spot later that evening with a straight-set win over Stanford’s Nicholas Godsick and Hudson Rivera in their respective championship doubles match.

Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton

Despite falling in the first set 6-4, Brantmeier and Hamilton won out in a second set tiebreaker to force a third against the

Then, with the bid into the main draw of the U.S. Open on the line, the Tar Heels iced it in the third set, winning the tiebreaker, 10-5.

Brantmeier and Hamilton ended the 2025 season with a 23-3 record and ranked as the No. 2 doubles team in the country. Auburn’s Bennett and Hrastar were No. 11.

In its inaugural year, the four-team doubles and four-player singles playoff was created to increase the number of American collegiate tennis players who earn wild cards into the U.S. Open. Previously, only the NCAA singles and doubles champions received a main draw wild card, while the other NCAA singles finalist received a qualifying wild card. This season, six wild card entries were up for grabs.

In 2025, Brantmeier finally returned to the court for her junior season following a meniscus injury in her right knee that sidelined her for 11 months.

Then, after helping lead North Carolina to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in May, Brantmeier partially tore her remaining meniscus in her right knee, forcing her to retire her singles match and sit out the rest of the tournament. Without Brantmeier in the lineup, UNC ultimately fell to Georgia, 4-0, in the NCAA semifinals.

She has since returned to playing tennis, and alongside her freshman doubles partner, Hamilton, took down UCLA’s Olivia Center and Kate Fakih in a third-set comeback on Wednesday to advance to the wild card playoff final.

With Thursday’s win, Brantmeier is returning to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2021.

The women’s U.S. Open doubles tournament is set to run from Aug. 28-Sept. 5.

Cooper Williams and Theo Winegar

Williams and Winegar earned their spot in the main draw of the U.S. Open’s men’s doubles tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the playoff championship match.

The All-American Blue Devil pair concluded the collegiate season ranked No. 3 in the country, posting an 11-2 record. Facing the No. 31 team, Williams and Winegar quickly handled the Stanford Cardinal, winning key break points before building up an insurmountable lead in both sets.

Williams — a transfer from Harvard — ended his sophomore season at No. 53 in national singles rankings. Alongside Winegar, a graduate transfer from Columbia, the Duke duo went 8-0 against ranked opponents this year.

The men’s U.S. Open doubles tournament will unfold from Aug. 29-Sept. 6.

This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 3:52 PM with the headline "UNC, Duke tennis players earn wild card berths to U.S. Open."