McCartney Kessler
Birth dateJuly 8, 1999 (age 27)
Birth placeCalhoun, Georgia, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
CollegeUniversity of Florida
CareerprizemoneyUS$ 2,155,006
Singlestitles3
HighestsinglesrankingNo. 30 (June 30, 2025)
CurrentsinglesrankingNo. 53 (March 30, 2026)
Australianopenresult2R (2024, 2026)
Frenchopenresult2R (2026)
Wimbledonresult1R (2024, 2025)
Usopenresult2R (2025)
Doublestitles1
HighestdoublesrankingNo. 47 (September 8, 2025)
CurrentdoublesrankingNo. 71 (March 30, 2026)
Australianopendoublesresult1R (2025, 2026)
Frenchopendoublesresult1R (2025)
Wimbledondoublesresult2R (2025)
Usopendoublesresult2R (2025)
Updated4 April 2026

McCartney Kessler (born July 8, 1999) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 30 in singles and No. 47 in doubles, by the WTA, achieved in 2025.[1][2] Kessler has won three singles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour.

Early life, college education

From Calhoun, Georgia, her parents, Carl Kessler and Julie Kessler (Driggers), played collegiate tennis at University of Central Florida. She has an older sister Mackenzie, who played club tennis at the University of Central Florida, and an older brother McClain Kessler, who played collegiate tennis at Florida.[3][4]

Kessler attended Calhoun High School.[5]

Kessler signed on to the University of Florida on a tennis scholarship to play collegiate tennis for the Florida Gators in November 2017.[6][7] At Florida, she was a three-time All-American and three-time First Team All-SEC player. She also earned the 2022 SEC Player of the Year Award, becoming the ninth player from University of Florida to earn the award.[8]

Career

2015: Juniors

Kessler won the U16 doubles title at the Orange Bowl with Emma Kurtz in 2015.[9]

2024: Major & WTA Tour debuts, first title

Kessler made her WTA Tour debut at the Auckland Open after qualifying.[10] She lost in the first round to Lulu Sun.[11]

For her major debut, she received a wildcard for the Australian Open,[12][13] after winning the USTA's Wild Card Challenge, and reached the second round, recording her first major match win over qualifier Fiona Ferro. She lost in the second round to Linda Nosková.[14] In February, she won the biggest title of her career to that date at the WTA 125 in Puerto Vallarta, defeating Taylah Preston in the final.[15]

In March, she received a wildcard from the Indian Wells Open making her WTA 1000 debut there,[16] losing to Nuria Párrizas Díaz in the first round.[17] In April, she entered the main draw of the WTA 500 Charleston Open as a lucky loser, making her debut at this level. She lost in the first round to Caroline Wozniacki.[18]

Kessler qualified for the Wimbledon, making her debut at this Grand Slam tournament,[19] losing to ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the first round.[20]

Following winning a W100 title in Landisville, Pennsylvania, she reached the top 100 on 12 August 2024.[21][22][23]

At the Tennis in Cleveland, she reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal by defeating fellow wildcard Katrina Scott[24][25] and fourth seed Wang Xinyu for her first top 50 win.[26][27] Next, she defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets.[28][29] Kessler reached her first final with a come-from-behind three set victory over fifth seed Anastasia Potapova, for her second top 50 win,[30][31] and won her maiden Tour title defeating top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.[32][33]

She also received a wildcard for the US Open making her debut at her home Grand Slam event,[34] losing in the first round to 19th seed Marta Kostyuk.[35]

2025: Top 30, WTA 1000 singles 4th rounds and doubles title

Kessler started her season at the Brisbane International, where she defeated Magda Linette,[36] before losing to 15th seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round.[37] The following week, she reached the final at the Hobart International with wins over seventh seed Rebecca Šramková,[38] María Lourdes Carlé[39] top seed Dayana Yastremska[40] and sixth seed Elina Avanesyan.[41][42] In the championship match, Kessler defeated second seed Elise Mertens in three sets to secure her second career title.[43][44] As a result, she reached the top 50 at world No. 47 in the WTA singles rankings on 13 January.[45][46]

In February, at the Dubai Open, Kessler defeated Amanda Anisimova in the first round[47] and then overcame world No. 3, Coco Gauff, to record her first win against a top-5 ranked player.[48][49] She lost in the third round to Karolína Muchová in a match which went to a deciding set tiebreak.[50] Kessler reached the final at the ATX Open and despite losing to top seed Jessica Pegula, she returned to the top 50, at world No. 48.[51] Alongside Zhang Shuai, she was also runner-up in the doubles at the same tournament, losing the championship match to Anna Blinkova and Yuan Yue.[52]

In June at the Nottingham Open, Kessler defeated top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia,[53] Zhu Lin,[54] two-time defending champion Katie Boulter[55] and Rebecca Šramková to make it through to the final.[56] She also won the championship match against Yastremska, in straight sets, to claim her third career title. As a result, she reached the top 30 on 30 June 2025.[57]

Ranked No. 32 at the Canadian Open, she reached a WTA 1000 fourth round for the first time in her career upsetting world No. 5 and fourth seed, Mirra Andreeva, en route, her second top 5 win.[58][59] At the same tournament, she lifted her first doubles title and first at the WTA 1000 level with Coco Gauff, defeating world doubles No. 1, Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.[60]

2026: Abu Dhabi and Charleston quarterfinals

Competing at the Australian Open, Kessler was defeated in the second round of singles by Jessica Pegula. She and Pegula played the women's doubles together but lost in the first round to Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.[61]

In February, she reached the quarterfinals at the Abu Dhabi Open, losing to third seed Clara Tauson,[62] while the following month she also made it through to the last eight at the Charleston Open, this time falling to Yuliia Starodubtseva.[63]

At the 2026 French Open, Kessler recorded a three-set victory over Guo Hanyu of China in the first round.[64]

Career statistics

Performance timelines

Singles

Tournament2023202420252026SRW–LWin%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenA2R1R2R0 / 32–3
French OpenAQ11R0 / 10–1
WimbledonA1R1R0 / 20–2
US OpenQ31R2R0 / 21–2
Win–loss0–01–31–41–10 / 83–8
WTA 1000
Qatar OpenAA1RA0 / 10–1
Dubai ChampionshipsAA3RA0 / 12–1
Indian WellsA1R2R1R0 / 31–3
Miami OpenAQ13R2R0 / 23–2
Madrid OpenAQ11RA0 / 10–1
Italian OpenAA1R2R0 / 21–2
Canadian OpenAA4R0 / 13–1
Cincinnati OpenAA3R0 / 12–1
China OpenA1R4R0 / 23–2
Wuhan OpenAA1R0 / 10–1

Significant finals

WTA 1000 tournaments

Doubles: 1 (title)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win2025Canadian OpenHardCoco GauffTaylor Townsend
Zhang Shuai		6–4, 1–6, [13–11]

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
WTA 500
WTA 250 (3–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Grass (1–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–1)
Indoor (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Aug 2024Tennis in the Land, USWTA 250HardBeatriz Haddad Maia1–6, 6–1, 7–5
Win2–0Jan 2025Hobart International, AustraliaWTA 250HardElise Mertens6–4, 3–6, 6–0
Loss2–1Mar 2025ATX Open, USWTA 250HardJessica Pegula5–7, 2–6
Win3–1Jun 2025Nottingham Open, UKWTA 250GrassDayana Yastremska6–4, 7–5

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
WTA 1000 (1–0)
WTA 500 (0–0)
WTA 250 (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Mar 2025ATX Open, USWTA 250HardZhang ShuaiAnna Blinkova
Yuan Yue		6–3, 1–6, [4–10]
Win1–1Aug 2025Canadian Open, CanadaWTA 1000HardCoco GauffTaylor Townsend
Zhang Shuai		6–4, 1–6, [13–11]

WTA 125 finals

Singles: 1 (title)

ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Feb 2024Puerto Vallarta Open, MexicoHardTaylah Preston5–7, 6–3, 6–0

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
W100 tournaments (1–0)
W60/75 tournaments (2–0)
W15 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Oct 2021ITF Lubbock, United StatesW15HardAdriana Reami6–7(6–8), 1–6
Win1–1Oct 2023Georgia's Rome Open, USW60Hard (i)Grace Min6–2, 6–1
Win2–1Jan 2024Georgia's Rome Open, USW75Hard (i)Liv Hovde6–4, 6–1
Win3–1Aug 2024Landisville Tennis Challenge, USW100HardOlivia Gadecki4–6, 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
W60 tournaments (2–1)
W25 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Apr 2023ITF Jackson, USW25ClayJaeda DanielAllura Zamarripa
Maribella Zamarripa		1–6, 6–1, [10–5]
Loss1–1Jun 2023ITF Sumter, USW60HardYuliia StarodubtsevaMaria Mateas
Anna Rogers		4–6, 7–6(7–3), [6–10]
Loss1–2Jul 2023Evansville Classic, USW60HardYuliia StarodubtsevaMaria Kononova
Veronika Miroshnichenko		3–6, 6–2, [8–10]
Win2–2Sep 2023ITF Templeton Pro, USW60HardAlana SmithJaeda Daniel
Jessie Aney		7–5, 6–4

Wins against top 10 players

  • Kessler has a 2–4 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10
OpponentRankEventSurfaceRoundScoreMKR
2025
1.Coco Gauff3Dubai Championships, UAEHard2R6–4, 7–553
2.Mirra Andreeva5Canadian Open, CanadaHard3R7–6(7–5), 6–432

Best Grand Slam results details

Singles

Australian Open
2024 Australian Open (wildcard)
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
1RFiona Ferro (Q)No. 1533–6, 6–3, 6–2No. 206
2RLinda NoskováNo. 503–6, 6–1, 4–6
2026 Australian Open
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
1REmiliana ArangoNo. 516–3, 6–2No. 37
2RJessica Pegula (6)No. 60–6, 2–6
French Open
2025 French Open
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
1RElena-Gabriela RuseNo. 805–7, 6–7(3–7)No. 44
Wimbledon Championships
2024 Wimbledon (qualifier)
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
style="text-align:center;|Q1Rebecca MarinoNo. 1406–4, 6–7(2–7), 6–4No. 118
style="text-align:center;|Q2Maya JointNo. 1722–6, 6–4, 6–2
style="text-align:center;|Q3Renata Zarazúa (3)No. 953–6, 6–3, 6–2
1RMaria Sakkari (9)No. 93–6, 1–6No. 119
2025 Wimbledon (32nd seed)
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
1RMarkéta VondroušováNo. 731–6, 6–7(3–7)No. 30
US Open
2025 US Open (32nd seed)
RoundOpponentRankScoreMKR
1RMagda LinetteNo. 377–5, 7–5No. 41
2RMarkéta VondroušováNo. 606–7(7–9), 2–6

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