The US Open officially kicks off tomorrow, and there are strong contenders on both the men’s and women’s side to win the final grand slam of the year. American tennis for women has been consistent in the last 20 years with grand slam winners. Serena and Venus Williams dominated the sport in the 2000s and 2010s, with Serena winning 23 Grand Slams and Venus winning 7. Since their retirement in 2022, only three American women have won a Grand Slam: Sloane Stephens (2017 US Open), Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open), and Coco Gauff (2023 US Open). The American men have been the complete opposite with Andy Roddick (2003 US Open) being the most recent American Grand Slam winner for the men 21 Years ago. The American men and women both have real contenders to win this year’s US Open and they are poised to make a strong run to win the whole tournament.
Top Ranked American Women: No. 5 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Danielle Collins, No. 7 Jessica Pegula, No. 8 Emma Navarro
Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, and she has a very strong chance at defending he title. She has been performing really well with more consistent Grand Slam results this year with semi-finals appearances at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, along with a round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon. She’s playing at a really high level, and has been producing strong results consistently. Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins are the only two top 10 ranked American women who have played in Grand Slam finals.
Top Ranked American Men: No. 12 Taylor Fritz, No. 13 Ben Shelton, No. 14 Tommy Paul, No. 16 Sebastian Korda, No. 20 Frances Tiafoe
American tennis has been on the rise in the last few years, and this is the first time there has been 5 American men in the top 20 since 1997 (No. 1 Pete Sampras, No. 3 Michael Chang, No. 13 Andre Agassi, No. 15 Todd Martin, No. 18 Jim Courier). Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe have reached the semifinals of Grand Slams in the last two years, and have realistic expectations to win a Grand Slam in the near future. Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe had their semi-final runs at the US Open in 2022 and 2023, and with them opting out of the Paris Olympics to focus on preparing for the US Open, they have expectations to make a deep run for the title this year. Both players have been playing their best tennis during this final hard court stretch of the season with Shelton making the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, and Tiafoe making the final at Cincinnati a couple weeks ago.
