Columbia University men’s tennis player Michael Zheng will participate in the US Open qualifying draw for the third year in a row. Zheng, who is entering his senior year and holds the NCAA men’s singles national championship title, is scheduled to face Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan in the first round on Tuesday at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center.
The qualifying matches run from Monday through Thursday, with 16 spots available for players who win three consecutive matches. Zheng secured a wildcard entry after defeating Ohio State’s Aiden Kim in the semifinals of the American Collegiate Wildcard Playoff held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando earlier this summer.
Zheng recently won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Chicago, beating Yu Hsiou Hsu 6-4, 6-2 in the final. This adds to his recent achievements as he prepares for another attempt at reaching the US Open main draw.
He joins a select group of Columbia singles players who have competed at the US Open. Phil Williamson ’87CC was previously the last Lion to play singles qualifying or main draw matches, appearing most recently in 1997. Max Schnur ’15CC was part of the doubles main draw in 2022.
Eight other former Lions have played singles qualifying or main draw matches at the tournament. These include Evan Ratner ’85CC, Matthew Litsky ’87CC, and current head coach Howard Endelman ’87CC. Eric Fromm ’80CC reached the main draw four times between 1979 and 1983. Vitas Gerulaitis played with Columbia before losing to John McEnroe in the 1979 US Open final. Rick Fagel ’75CC qualified for several main draws between 1975 and 1982. Henry Bunis ’75CC reached multiple main draws after first qualifying in 1974; he also played under then-coach Butch Seewagen. Jon Molin ’77CC qualified for a main draw after competing unsuccessfully in qualifiers.
“Stay up to date on all things Columbia Men’s Tennis by following the Lions on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).”
