ALEX De Minaur’s breakout season has been rewarded with a French Open wildcard.

Having narrowly missed direct acceptance into the main draw, world No.106 De Minaur was selected by a Tennis Australia panel led by Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.

Ranked 208th at the start of the season, the 19-year-old has almost halved his ranking, highlighted by his march to a maiden Sydney final in January.

With six wins over top-50 opponents this season, the teenager was the obvious contender for discretionary inclusion.

“Alex has put in some quality performances over the past six months and it’s a great effort to be only a handful of places out of main draw on ranking at the young age of 19,” Hewitt said.

“He’s already reached an ATP World Tour final this year and this wildcard gives him another opportunity to gain experience against the best players in the world.”

De Minaur joins Davis Cup teammates Nick Kyrgios, John Millman, Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson in the main draw.

The decision leaves several other Australian men — including Bernard Tomic and James Duckworth — to their fates in qualifying.

TA has opted to stage a playoff for the women’s wildcard it has secured through a reciprocal agreement with the French Tennis Federation.

But there will be only seven players after Jaimee Fourlis withdrew because the talented young Victorian is still competing in a tournament at Saint-Gaudens.

Nominal playoff reserve Naiktha Bains is also involved at Saint-Gaudens — in doubles — and has also withdrawn.

Melbourne’s Olivia Rogowska, Lizette Cabrera, Destanee Aiava, Priscilla Hon, Ellen Perez, Isabelle Wallace and Kimberly Birrell will contest the playoff.

The winner will join Ashleigh Barty, Daria Gavrilova, Samantha Stosur and Ajla Tomljanovic in the main draw at Roland Garros.

Australia have four players in the women’s main draw, headed by seeds Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova, 2010 runner-up and four-time semi-finalist Samantha Stosur plus Ajla Tomljanovic.