Stanford senior Mallory Burdette won more than just her second tournament title on the pro circuit Sunday. She also won her way into the U.S. Open main draw as a wild card.
Burdette downed American Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 6-0, in the finals of the $200,000 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to earn enough USTA points to gain the wild card.
Burdette sent this tweet following her victory: “Redeye back to the states…Vancouver, I can’t wait to come back next year! #BestWeekEver Thanks for everything @MrsMeganRose!”
The summer has taken quite a turn for Burdette, who won a match at the $740,000 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford a month ago and then won her first career pro tournament title at the Women’s Hospital Tennis Classic, a $10,000 Pro Circuit event, in Evansville, Indiana.
Her win over Anne Keothavong, the 2007 Vancouver Open champion, at Taube Family Tennis Center in the first week of July was the first time Burdette had picked up a tennis racket since teaming with Cardinal junior Nicole Gibbs to win the NCAA doubles title in May.
“No doubt it’s a bit of a surprise,” Burdette told The Province. “I definitely gained a lot of confidence coming out of the NCAA tournament and I’ve been working really hard on the mental side of the game. I think that’s helped me a lot, to conserve energy in these tournaments, stay relaxed and enjoy it.”
Gibbs was also in Vancouver, winning her first round match before losing in the second round. Stanford grad Bradley Klahn went 1-1 in the men’s tournament at Vancouver.
Gibbs earned a wild card into the U.S. Open with her NCAA championship victory over Burdette.
“I was talking to my sister (Lindsay) last night about it,” Burdette said. “We knew the points race was close but I didn’t actually know that if I won this match I’d for sure have it. It’s pretty exciting and I feel like I’ve got a second shot at it after losing the finals of NCAAs and working so hard this summer.”
Burdette played as an amateur and turned down the $15,200 prize, except for expenses.
Pegula, the daughter of the NHL Buffalo Sabres ownwe Terrence Pegula, entered the tournament ranked 214th.
The tournament included 11 of the top 150 women in the WTA world rankings.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
So great to see Mallory gaining confidence and winning the big matches. Congrats.
Looking forward to seeing her and the team at Stanford in the fall.