San Diego’s Katherine Hui, the reigning US Open Girls’ Singles Champion, has been granted a Wild Card into the singles qualifying draw of the upcoming Cymbiotika San Diego Open WTA 500, tournament officials announced.
The women’s professional tennis tournament, which will offer $922,573 in prize money, is scheduled to be played Saturday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, March 3 at Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd.
The 19-year-old Hui, who grew up in San Diego’s Santaluz community, is currently a freshman at Stanford University. She helped lead the Cardinal women’s tennis team to No. 2 in the nation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
Hui, a graduate of Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach, capped a brilliant junior tennis career in 2023 by reaching the singles final of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships last August at Barnes Tennis Center.
In her final junior tournament, Hui traveled to New York where she overcame a tough field to capture the 2023 US Open girls’ singles title without the loss of a set. In the final, she defeated Tereza Valentova of Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4.
This will mark Hui’s second appearance in the Cymbiotika San Diego Open. She teamed with fellow San Diegan Alyssa Ahn to play doubles in the tournament’s inaugural year in 2022. They fell to tour veterans Storm Hunter of Australia and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani 6-0, 6-4 in the first round.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to compete for a spot in the main draw of my hometown WTA 500 event. It will be great to play in front of family and friends at Barnes Tennis Center. I’ve played tournaments there since I was seven years old and I have so many nice memories,” Hui said. “I would like to thank Tournament Director Ryan Redondo and the Cymbiotika San Diego Open for the qualifying Wild Card.”
“We are very happy to give a well-deserving player like Katherine a Wild Card into our qualifying competition,” said tournament director Ryan Redondo. “This will be a chance for her to gain some great experience against highly-ranked WTA professionals. We would also like to thank her Stanford coaches for allowing her to play our event.”
The WTA 500 tournament, featuring the top women tennis professionals in the world, offers $922,573 in prize money and will have a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. Qualifying rounds are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25 with Main Draw matches starting Monday, Feb. 26 and concluding with the singles and doubles finals on Sunday, March 3.
The starting times for each day of the 2024 Cymbiotika San Diego Open will be as follows:
Day 1 Qualifying – Saturday, Feb. 24 – 10 a.m.
Day 2 Qualifying – Sunday, Feb. 25 –  11 a.m.
Main Draw Sessions
Monday, Feb. 26, Tuesday, Feb. 27 and Wednesday, Feb. 28  – 1 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 29  – 11:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.
Friday, March 1 (Quarterfinals) – 11:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 (Semifinals) – 1 p.m.
Doubles Championship – Sunday, March 3 – 1:30 p.m.
Singles Championship – Sunday, March 3 – 4 p.m.
Tickets for the 2024 Cymbiotika San Diego Open are currently on sale. Ticket information is available on the official tournament website at wtasdopen.com.