Stefanoni Sisters, Brownell and Faraz Khan Named U.S. Open Wild Cards

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Marina Stefanoni (r) in the 2021 U.S. Junior Championship final last November at the Specter Center.

Sisters Marina and Lucie Stefanoni, newly-crowned U.S. champion Timmy Brownell and world No. 56 Faraz Khan will serve as the four wild cards in the 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist, October 8-15, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

All four Americans return for their second U.S. Open hosted at the Specter Center, and will aim for success against the world’s top players.

Last year, Marina Stefanoni pulled off a top 25 first round upset over Danielle Letourneau in what was her first career Platinum victory.

“I am so excited to be able to participate in the U.S. Open for a second time at the Specter Center,” Marina said. “I trained at the center for a few weeks this summer and am starting to feel like I can call the place and people home. Looking forward to trying to match or beat my result from last year.”

Lucie Stefanoni represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships in France and placed eleventh in the world in the individual competition. The eighteen-year-old is now set for her second U.S. Open appearance.

“After a great experience at the British Junior Open and World Junior Championships there is nothing better than having the opportunity to play in the US Open again,” Lucie said. “Competing at the incredible Specter Center is always amazing. Hopefully I can use what I learned over the summer and keep improving my game by playing against pro players.”

After enjoying the most successful spell of his young career this spring with a maiden U.S. national title and a strong run at the Tournament of Champions, world No. 69 Timmy Brownell now has his sights set on a first career U.S. Open win.

“It’s amazing to be playing in the U.S. Open, it’s one of the biggest events on the calendar and a chance to play against the best players in the world, so who wouldn’t want to do that,” Brownell said. “It’s a lot different when you’re in your own backyard and everyone else has to come here and play out of their element. It’s a big advantage to those of us who train here every day and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

World No. 56 Faraz Khan made an impressive first round showing in his sixth U.S. Open appearance last year, pushing Switzerland’s Nick Mueller to four games in fifty minutes. Khan will hope for a good run to bolster his chances of breaking into the world’s top fifty players.

Khan also sits one position above the ranking cut line, and in the case of one withdrawal in the lead up to the tournament, moves into the tournament based on ranking, opening up the second wild card position for U.S. teammate and world No. 82 Spencer Lovejoy.

Draws will be released publicly Wednesday, August 31.

For tickets and more information visit usopensquash.com.

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