The 2024 U.S. Open begins Monday, with the world’s best tennis players traveling to New York City to compete for the final major title of the season.
Coco Gauff won the trophy last year, becoming the first American woman to win the singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017. The 20-year-old will look to defend her title, but several other American women are also capable of making deep runs at Flushing Meadows.
As for the men’s side, could this finally be the year an American ends the U.S. Open drought? The last time an American man won the singles title in New York was in 2003 when Andy Roddick won his lone major title. Before that, American men ruled the tournament but, there hasn’t been a competitor to break the streak in over 20 years.
Here’s a list of some of the American tennis stars to keep an eye out for during the two weeks of competition.
Coco Gauff
The reigning U.S. Open champion will return to New York looking to add a second major championship to her trophy cabinet. Since that monumental win last year, Gauff has reached back-to-back major semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open but fell short of advancing to the finals.
Gauff won the ASB Classic at the beginning of the year but hasn’t claimed another trophy since. She struggled at the Paris Olympics, losing in the third round of the women’s singles draw after an emotional, and controversial moment with a chair umpire. Her two doubles teams also didn’t medal. The U.S. Open could easily be the boost of confidence the 20-year-old needs right now.
Taylor Fritz
As the top-ranked American male player, Fritz holds a lot of weight on his shoulders heading into the U.S. Open. Fritz reached the quarterfinals for the first time at last year’s tournament, and he will hope to best that run this year.
The 26-year-old just played in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July, and he won a bronze medal in the men’s doubles event at the Olympics alongside partner Tommy Paul.
Jessica Pegula
The World No. 6 won one of the U.S. Open tune-up tournaments, the Canadian Open before advancing to the final in Cincinnati, falling to Aryna Sabalenka. She also won a grass court tournament in Berlin earlier this summer.
As for major tournaments, Pegula hasn’t always had the best results. She’s never made it past the quarterfinal round in a major tournament. She’s only reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals once back in 2022. Pegula will be looking to break this pattern at Flushing Meadows, with her sights set on a breakthrough major title.
Ben Shelton
The 21-year-old made a historic run at the 2023 U.S. Open, reaching the semifinals in just his second appearance in the major tournament. He lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic but beat fellow Americans Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul on his path there. This splashy showing garnered some eyeballs and allowed Shelton to make a name for himself on tour.
Shelton has won just two ATP titles in his career, with his second coming at the Houston clay tournament in April.
Danielle Collins
This will be Collins’s last U.S. Open appearance as she plans to retire at the end of the 2024 season. Collins has had an incredible last year on tour, as she won back-to-back WTA titles, the Miami Open and the Charleston Open.
She’s played in one major final, the 2022 Australian Open, but she’s never reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. Finishing on top in New York would be quite the way for Collins to go out.
Tommy Paul
Paul advanced to a career-best, fourth-round appearance at the 2023 U.S. Open, before losing to Shelton. He’s also coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon in July and a bronze-medal finish with Fritz at the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old reached the semifinals at the 2023 Australian Open, so he’ll be looking to continue his strong major performances in New York.
He’s already won two ATP titles this season, including a hard-court tournament in Dallas earlier this year.
Madison Keys
Keys is no stranger to the U.S. Open spotlight. She was a finalist in 2017, and a semifinalist in '18 and '23. Flushing Meadows is a venue where Keys is known to thrive, but she has yet to capture the title.
Keys is recovering from a hamstring injury that forced her to retire during her quarterfinal match at Wimbledon. She returned to the court at the Canadian Open but retired in her Round of 32 match as well.
Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe has dazzled in his last few U.S. Open appearances. He finished in the Round of 16 in 2020 and '21 before charging to the semifinals in '22. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Shelton.
He’s gotten dangerously close to reaching the final in the last two years, perhaps 2024 is finally Tiafoe's time to lift the trophy.
Emma Navarro
Navarro’s had a standout year after winning her first WTA title in January at the Hobart International. She ascended to a career-high No. 13 ranking and represented Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
The 23-year-old’s never made it past the first round of the U.S. Open, but she’s coming off a stunning quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, which included a win over countrywoman and reigning U.S. Open champion Gauff. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Navarro's breakout year also includes a strong showing in New York.
Sebastian Korda
Korda hasn’t had the best luck in major tournaments in his career, but he’s entering the U.S. Open with some momentum as he just won his second ATP title a few weeks ago at the D.C. Open. He followed up his win by defeating Fritz and Alexander Zverev in the Canadian Open to reach the semifinals.
Finishing well in two of the U.S. Open tune-ups is a good sign as he looks to make a statement in New York.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as American Players to Watch at the 2024 U.S. Open.
