Townsend among eight women with wild cards for US Open

New York: Taylor Townsend, Grace Min, Nicole Gibbs and Danielle Collins are among eight players receiving wild-card invitations for the US Open women's draw.

Townsend is an 18-year-old from Chicago who is a former junior No. 1 and reached the third round at the French Open this year. Min won the 2011 U.S. Open girls' title, while Gibbs and Collins are NCAA champions.

Other wild-card entries announced Tuesday by the U.S. Tennis Association are past Wimbledon and Australian Open junior finalist Madison Brengle, USTA girls' national champion CiCi Bellis, Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova and France's Amandine Hesse.

The U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tournament, starts Aug. 25.