Two weeks out from the U.S. Open doubles tournament in mid-August, North Carolina senior Fiona Crawley was hitting with her partner, junior Carson Tanguilig, and former UNC tennis standout Jamie Loeb when she received big news.
Loeb was texting another former Tar Heel, Makenna Jones, who had just earned a wild card into the singles tournament. Moments later, another text came in.
“Fi, you got one,” Loeb said to Crawley.
At the 2023 U.S. Open in New York, Crawley advanced out of the singles qualifier to the main draw by winning all three qualifying matches – one of only two collegiate players in the tournament to do so. Crawley and Tanguilig also competed in doubles after receiving a wild card bid and fell in the first round.
But, prior to Crawley's run at the U.S. Open, when she first received word of her wild card from Loeb, panic set in. Before that day, Crawley said she hadn't touched a racket in two weeks — a short break from tennis after competing all summer.
Crawley already knew she'd be competing with Tanguilig in doubles, but the wild card meant she had to change her flight and gear up quickly to play against professionals a week earlier than expected. These players were older, ranked higher and did not have schoolwork to keep up with like Crawley, an English and Comparative Literature major.
"We were playing women," Crawley said. "I felt like a kid, like, 100 percent."
In her first match against No. 249 Reka Luca Jani on Aug. 23, Crawley faced a close contest with multiple tie-breaks. However, the ITA National Player of the Year managed to clinch a 6-1, 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (10-6) victory and record her first ever Grand Slam match victory.
Crawley faced No. 193 Timea Babos in the second round, scraping by with another win in a last-ditch tiebreak of the third set, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (10-5). The final points of the match had to be played the next day after it was postponed due to bad weather.
