The jarring buzz of the alarm echoed around the office at 10:30 a.m. on the dot. For a few noisy seconds, the sound filled the referee's office, just a handful of steps off the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The lucky loser sign-in process for the first day of the main draw at the US Open was officially over. The fate of nine women and five men -- all of whom had lost in the final round of qualifying last week and dutifully signed in on Sunday morning -- was now dependent on the misfortune of a peer. A "CLOSED 10:30" note was written at the bottom of both forms in daunting red ink.

Less than a minute after the alarm rang, Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 tournament champion, came into the office with her dad. Her ranking plummeted after a series of injuries, and she was unfamiliar with the lucky loser process. She and her dad peppered the tournament official with questions. Where was she on the list? (seven) Had any woman already withdrawn? (no) If someone didn't sign in today, would they still be able to sign in the next day and potentially bump her further down the list? (yes)

At 10:52 a.m., just eight minutes before the first matches were scheduled to begin, Dr. Melissa Leber, the tournament's director of player medical services, arrived, speaking in a hushed tone and carrying a clipboard. She and Jake Garner, the US Open's referee, privately conversed for a few moments before Garner signed some paperwork. A player -- later identified as Casper Ruud, the 2022 runner-up -- was injured and would need to be replaced.

From there, a series of actions, to signify Ruud's absence and alert Arthur Gea, the lucky loser given his spot, were quickly underway. But the other four men and nine women who remained on the list had to stay at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hoping for their chance. "Basically, you have to act like you're playing every day," said Vendula Valdmannova, an 18-year-old hoping to play in the first major main draw of her career.