Locals JJ Wolf, Vignesh Gogineni awarded Cincinnati Open wild cards

Two former Cincinnati high school standout tennis players have been awarded wild cards to the Cincinnati Open.

JJ Wolf (Cincinnati Country Day) and Vignesh Gogineni (Mason) were granted qualifying wild card spots, the tournament announced on Friday, July 31.

The main draw wild cards were awarded to former Cincinnati Open champion Grigor Dimitrov, three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka, Jack Draper and Gael Monfils.

Wolf, who has been ranked as high as No. 39 throughout his career (2023), is on the comeback trail after shoulder injuries sidelined him for over a year. He has recently played in ATP Challengers in Bloomfield Hills, Lincoln and Cary.

Wolf is still searching for his first main draw victory in his hometown tournament. He lost in the Round of 64 in 2020, 2022 and 2023. In his last Cincinnati Open appearance, he fell in the opening round of qualifying.

Gogineni was a three-time All-Ohio selection and an All-American at Mason, winning a state title as a senior in 2022. He also helped lead the Comets to a team state title in 2019.

He went on to Yale University, where he earned first-team All-Ivy honors as a senior and competed in the NCAA Individual Championships. He has five ITF events under his belt thus far, reaching the quarterfinals twice in California in June (Claremont and San Diego).

Qualifying at the Cincinnati Open begins on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Locals JJ Wolf, Vignesh Gogineni awarded Cincinnati Open wild cards