Serena is set to play in her New York finale, while Coco Gauff looks poised to make a run. Here are the key players to watch.
The biggest headline going into this year’s U.S. Open is no doubt centered around Serena Williams and her retirement. The 23-time Grand Slam champion will play her last Grand Slam tournament of her GOAT-status career in front of a home crowd.
But Williams isn’t the only American woman that fans should pay attention to in this year’s U.S. Open draw. There are currently five American players in the Top-25 WTA rankings, and Williams isn't one of them. Some of the American women playing at the U.S. Open are coming off of historical runs at other Grand Slam tournaments, including Coco Gauff, who played in her first Grand Slam final this year.
There are 21 total American women competing at this year’s tournament. Is it possible there could be a repeat of the 2017 U.S. Open, when four American women made up the semifinals? Sloane Stephens ended up beating Madison Keys for the title, while Venus Williams and Coco Vandeweghe competed in the semifinals.
Here’s a few of the top-seeded American women going into this year’s tournament.
Serena Williams: When previewing American women in a draw, you have to start with no other than Serena Williams. As a six-time U.S. Open champion, Williams comes in with a large advantage on paper. However, 2021–22 haven’t been the best two seasons for the 40-year-old on the tennis court.
Williams made the 2018 and ‘19 U.S. Open finals, but was taken down in both matches. Since then, she hasn’t reached a Grand Slam final. In ‘20, Williams reached the semifinals in New York. Then, in ‘21, she didn’t play due to an injury she suffered at Wimbledon that year.
Now, Williams has more eyes on her than she could ever imagine since she plans to retire after the tournament. A lot of pressure will be on the GOAT as she tries to make a successful run.
You can never count Williams out of a tournament. However, if you look at her performances this year, it’s possible that she might not advance as far as tennis fans may hope. She lost in the first round of Wimbledon to France’s Harmony Tan. She won her first round match in Montreal before losing in the second round. In the U.S. Open tune-up in Cincinnati, she lost to No. 10 player Emma Raducanu in the first round. This tallies her 2022 record to 1–3 in singles play.
Williams will face No. 80 Danka Kovinić in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Six American Men to Watch at the 2022 U.S. Open
AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Jessica Pegula: The New York native comes in as the top-seeded American woman at No. 8. The 28-year-old has already reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals this year at the Australian Open and the French Open. In France, she was taken down by No. 1 Iga Świątek, who ended up winning the tournament. However, Pegula hasn’t advanced past the Round of 32 at the U.S. Open in her career yet.
In Pegula’s most recent tournament in Cincinnati, she took down No. 10 Raducanu shortly after the British player beat Williams. Raducanu is also the reigning U.S. Open champion.
In front of a home crowd, Pegula has a slight advantage over any opponent she could go up against. She’s definitely an American player to keep an eye on.
Coco Gauff: Gauff is no stranger to making headlines at Grand Slam tournaments. Remember Wimbledon in 2019 when she took down Venus Williams and advanced all the way to the fourth round?
This year is no different. Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, ultimately losing to World No. 1 Świątek. Off the court, the 18-year-old graduated high school this year.
Gauff comes in as the No. 12 seed. She’s never advanced further than the third round at the U.S. Open, so this could be her year to make her own history.
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Danielle Collins: The 28-year-old has had a historical year in her tennis career. She started 2022 off by reaching the Australian Open final back in January. Now retired Australian Ashleigh Barty beat Collins 6–3, 7–6 in the match. It’s worth noting that she beat Świątek in the semifinals to advance to the final match.
Collins heads into the U.S. Open ranked at No. 19. Her ranking dropped significantly since July due to her missing a few tournaments with a neck injury. She hasn’t played since right after Wimbledon, in which she was knocked out in round one at the Lausanne tournament. She also dealt with back and abdominal pain after her historic Australian Open run.
The American received a tough first round matchup, though. She will face two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, someone who Collins wasn’t able to beat this year in the Miami quarterfinals. It will definitely be a challenge for Collins, but if she is able to pull off the win, it will be a major upset for the tournament.
Madison Keys: The 2017 U.S. Open runner-up is coming off a strong tournament run at the Western & Southern Open prior to the Grand Slam tournament. Keys took down Świątek in straight sets, and even beat No. 16 Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets. She ended up reaching the semifinals before Petra Kvitová took her down in that match.
Keys also reached her second Australian Open semifinal this year before the eventual champion Barty beat her.
The 27-year-old is on fire this year, so she is definitely someone to watch as she sits at the No. 20 seed.
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Sloane Stephens: The 2017 U.S. Open champion has made her way back onto headlines this season after having a few struggling seasons. After losing in the first round of the Australian Open to Raducanu, Stephens came back and won her first title since 2018 at the Abierto de Guadalajara tournament in February. She advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open, but lost to eventual finalist Gauff.
The biggest issue for Stephens heading into the U.S. Open is that if she advances to the second round, it’s likely that she will face Świątek.
The 29-year-old previously dominated in comparison to the American women in the draw. Although she’s ranked No. 53 this year, she could be someone on upset watch depending how her potential second round match with the World No. 1 goes.
Other Americans to watch:
- Two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams is returning to the tournament after missing it last year.
- No. 24 Amanda Anisimova reached the quarterfinals of this year’s Wimbledon.
- No. 29 Alison Riske-Amritraj has reached two WTA finals this season.
- No. 31 Shelby Rogers reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2020.
- The 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin could potentially face Anisimova in the second round.
- Coco Vandeweghe reached the U.S. Open semifinal in 2017.
- Bernarda Pera captured her first two WTA titles this season, even taking down No. 2 Anett Kontaveit.
- Taylor Townsend reached the Round of 16 at the 2019 U.S. Open.
- The former junior No. 1 Claire Liu has yet to advance past the second round at a Grand Slam.
- Lauren Davis has yet to advance past the Round of 32 at the U.S. Open, or any Grand Slam tournament.
- Ann Li also hasn’t advanced past the Round of 32 in a Grand Slam.
- Madison Brengle has never won a U.S. Open singles match in her career.
- Elizabeth Mandlik earned her first WTA win earlier this season taking down Riske-Amritraj.
- 17-year-old Eleana Yu will face Riske in the first round.
- Peyton Stearns will participate in her first Grand Slam tournament at the U.S. Open.
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