US women’s tennis since the late 1990s has been dominated by the Williams sisters (alongside Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati).
For a country that gave the tennis world Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the 1970s and ’80s, and the formidable quartet of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang in the 1990s, the last two decades have been a barren period for the US. Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title (2003 US Open), and the last to feature in a final (2009 Wimbledon). That jinx is set to be broken with Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz facing off in an all-American US Open semifinal.
Evidently, it’s not just US players who have been found short since three racquet-wielders named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic emerged on the tennis stage. There have been at least two generations of high-quality talent — players such as Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian — who were brushed aside by the Big 3. It needed the calibre of Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka — occasionally Milos Raonic and Juan Martin del Potro — to stay relevant. In fact, 2024 is the first year since 2002 when neither Federer, nor Nadal or Djokovic have won a major. As their era comes to a close, Fritz and Tiafoe may be two of several players — behind Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner — who will attempt to fill the void. Fritz won just two of his 15 matches against the Big 3 (both against Nadal) while Tiafoe had solitary success in seven attempts (also against Nadal). Hence, it may be a case of them finding their place under the sun beyond the long shadows of the legends.
US women’s tennis since the late 1990s has been dominated by the Williams sisters (alongside Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati). But with the likes of Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin now winning majors, there’s no problem with depth. There are five Americans in the top-20 on the women’s side as well, and with the less heralded Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro in the US Open semifinals, there’s no cause for worry.
