Schnack Loses Final Match in US Open Playoffs

Elk Grove tennis star narrowly missed out on winning a wildcard into the women's singles event at the US Open, falling in an upset Sunday to New Jersey native Robin Anderson.

Competing in the finals of the US Open National Playoffs, held in New Haven, CT, Anderson beat No. 2 seed Schnack 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Anderson opened up the match with three double faults to give Schnack an early break and struggled with her timing early on.

“I was very aware of my surroundings and the crowd,” said Anderson. “It took a little while to settle in.”

The first set was a back-and-forth encounter featuring numerous service breaks, but it was Schnack’s gutsy trips to the net that got her to prevail in the opening set. She followed up a forehand drive with a volley winner to reach set point at 6-5, and a backhand error from Anderson gave the Elk Grovian a one-set lead. 

Anderson had a break point in Schnack’s first service game of the second set, but missed it with a routine overhead. However, a forehand error from Schnack in her next service game gave Anderson a 3-1 lead. 

Schnack gained the break back in Anderson’s next service game, but a forehand winner from the Matawan native gave her a 4-2 lead, and she rode the momentum through to the rest of the match, reeling off eight consecutive games in total.

The final set was one-way traffic for Anderson. Schnack struggled to find the timing on her serve, hitting a pair of double faults to go down 2-0, and a double fault to also lose her next service game. Down 0-5, Schnack managed to hold serve and get on the board, but an ace down the middle from Anderson on her first match point gave her the match and the wildcard into the US Open qualifying tournament.

Despite the loss, Schnack was gracious in defeat afterwards.

“I want to thank the crowd for coming out here today and congratulate Robin for playing such a well-fought match,” said Schnack. “She definitely deserves it. I’m just glad that a fellow UCLA player will still be competing in the US Open.”

The defeat still leaves Schnack with one more chance to make it into the US Open: She'll compete in the finals of the mixed-doubles event this week. The winner in that event will receive a wildcard directly into the main draw of the tournament, which takes place Aug. 29 to Sept. 11 in New York City.