Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who will be playing in his last US Open this year, has been given one of eight wildcards for a spot in the main draw into the final Grand Slam of the year. The two-time major champ will be retiring in his home slam at the Australian Open next year at Melbourne Park as he continues his farewell tour. 

Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert is the other non-American player to receive a wildcard at Flushing Meadows. Herbert is currently ranked 139th in the world and was a former US Open juniors semifinalist in 2009. He was also an Australian Open finalist this year in doubles with Nicolas Mahut losing to Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in straight sets. 

The other six players to receive wildcards are all Americans. Ryan Shane, Ryan Harrison, Jared Donaldson, Bjorn Fratangelo, Austin Krajicek, and Francis Tiafoe will all be representing the Stars and Stripes at Flushing Meadows hoping to either put their names out there or to have a strong showing to improve their rankings. 

A look into the six American wildcards

Ryan Shane is a 21-year-old out of the University of Virginia. The eighth-seeded Cavalier won the NCAA Men's Single Championship last year over ACC rival Noah Rubin of Wake Forest in three sets. The victory earned him his wildcard into the US Open. 

Ryan Harrison is 23 years old and currently ranked 126th in the world. He hasn't been able to breakthrough just yet in the majors failing to make it past the third round in any. His fall out of the top 100 this year has made it difficult for him to get into main draw events. He does have one top 10 win this year though over Grigor Dimitrov in Acapulco. 

Jared Donaldson is an 18-year-old who is one of the players who is considered as the "Future of American Men's Tennis". He's picked up three main draw wins this year winning a match in Memphis, Atlanta, and Newport. 

Bjorn Fratangelo is currently at a career-high ranking of 106. After years of toiling in the ITF Futures Circuit, he's finally taken a step up to the "Triple-A" of tennis by playing on the Challenger Tour. In the last 12 months, he's made five Challenger finals and has won three of them, including one this year over South Korean tennis phenom Hyeon Chung. 

Austin Krajicek is the eldest of the six American wildcards at 25 years old. He's currently ranked 113th in the world and won one title Challenger on the year in Mexico. 

Francis Tiafoe is the final wildcard into the US Open. The 17-year-old hails from College Park, Maryland and was the U18 USTA National Champion defeating Stefan Kozlov in five sets to claim the wildcard.