MASON, Ohio — Juan Martín del Potro, the Argentine who recently completed an inspired run to the silver medal at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, was awarded a wild card into the United States Open, which begins Aug. 29.

The decision was announced Tuesday. Del Potro won his only Grand Slam singles title at the 2009 United States Open at age 20, defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Roger Federer in a five-set final.

Del Potro reached No. 4 in the world rankings in 2010, but his career has been derailed by wrist injuries. He seriously considered retirement at the end of last year after a third operation on his left wrist. Instead, he returned to the tour in February and has resumed being a major threat, upsetting Stan Wawrinka in the second round of Wimbledon and then top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Olympics.

In tennis, even seemingly obvious decisions can stir debate. Since the Olympics do not factor into a player’s ranking, del Potro received no bump from his victories in Rio de Janeiro. He is still No. 141, which was why he needed a wild card for the Open. Although there are no firm criteria for the distribution of wild cards, they are traditionally given to players from the country where the tournament is held.