US OPEN
American teenager Coco Gauff fights back to beat Aryna Sabalenka and win U.S. Open
Teenager Coco Gauff mounted a fierce comeback to beat Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday, claiming her first Grand Slam title and cementing her place in American tennis royalty.
With the win, sixth seed Gauff became the first American to win a U.S. Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
Gauff, 19, fed off noisy local support as she fought back in the second set and kept the momentum going until the end of the battle, before falling to the court on Arthur Ashe Stadium as she clinched the title with a backhand winner.
Sabalenka had a superb start but could not keep the momentum going as unforced errors piled up and she closed her 2023 Grand Slam run, which included an Australian Open title and semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, on a disappointing note.
“It doesn’t get more dramatic than that, to be honest,” said Gauff, who lost in her only previous major final appearance last year at Roland Garros.
“I knew today was going to be one of those problem-solving tough matches because she’s a tough opponent, so I’m obviously happy with the result.”
There were early signs of nervousness from both players, as Gauff made a pair of unforced errors to help Sabalenka to a break in the opening game, and the Belarusian dropped serve in the fourth game with two double faults and an unforced error.
The crowd urged on Gauff, the first American teenager to reach the U.S. Open singles final since Serena Williams in 2001.
But Sabalenka blocked out the noise and used her mighty forehand to convert on a break point chance in the fifth game. The Belarusian was helped to another break in the seventh as Gauff double faulted and made two more costly forehand mistakes.
The 25-year-old Sabalenka, who will take over as world number one in the new rankings, had ended Gauff’s run at Indian Wells earlier this year but told reporters this week she expected a “different player” in Saturday’s final.
She ended up facing just that in the second set, as the American showed new resolve when she fended off a pair of break points in the first game and flipped the script.
What was once a lopsided affair turned into a battle as Gauff increased her intensity, sending Sabalenka scrambling around the court in the fourth game before the Belarusian dropped her serve with a double fault.
Gauff produced an overhead smash to break in the opening game of the third set and converted another in the third game.
Sabalenka took a medical timeout after the fifth game, consulting a physio for an apparent issue with her left thigh, but did not appear worse off as she broke in the next game.
If Gauff was rattled, however, she did not show it, winning a 20-shot rally before breaking back in the seventh game and soaking up the adoration of the crowd at the major she grew up watching as she clinched the title.
After offering her opponent a hug, Gauff burst into tears and embraced her parents in the stands.
“The whole time I was saying to myself, ‘Oh, my goodness, how is this real?’” she told reporters.
“When I sat down after hugging them back before the ceremony, it felt real in that moment, but when I was going to hug them it didn’t. I almost forgot to shake the ref’s hand. It was a crazy moment.”
The tournament was celebrating 50 years of equal prize money at this year’s edition, and pioneer Billie Jean King was on hand to offer Gauff the trophy.
Sabalenka had only dropped a single set en route to Saturday’s finale and had tears in her eyes as she offered her opponent credit, chuckling as she said she wanted more finals against the American – but with “different results, hopefully.”
She told reporters the tide had turned during the match as she began “overthinking” in the second set.
“Because of that I start kind of like losing my power,” said Sabalenka “Then she start moving better. I start missing a lot of easy shots.”
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
The win delivered on years of enormous expectations hoisted upon the young American Gauff’s shoulders after she became the youngest ever to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw at 15 years old.
The breakthrough at such an early age came with its pitfalls.
“People were putting a lot of pressure on me to win. I felt that at 15 I had to win a slam at 15,” said Gauff.
“I felt like I had a time limit on when I should win one, and if I won one after a certain age it wouldn’t be an achievement.
“Yeah, it’s just crazy the amount of things that I have heard or seen about myself, but I’m really happy of how I’ve been able to manage it all.”
She found a new gear this summer, producing the best tennis of her career as she picked up a win in Washington and secured her first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, before embarking on a tremendous run through Flushing Meadows.
“A month ago I won a 500 title and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago I won a 1000 title and people were saying that was the biggest it was gonna get,” said Gauff.
“So three weeks later I am here with this trophy right now… To those who thought they were putting water on my fire you were really adding gas to it and now I am burning so bright.”
-Reuters
Venus Williams showed flashes of vintage form under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday but despite pushing Karolina Muchova to a deciding set the 45-year-old American fell 6-3 2-6 6-1 in a thrilling U.S. Open first-round battle.
The seven-times Grand Slam champion was making a record-extending 25th main draw appearance in New York, where she won the title in 2000 and 2001, and delivered a spirited performance before a packed and partisan crowd.
“I was stressed,” Muchova said in her on-court interview. “You guys make me stressed, it was an unbelievable atmosphere. She’s such a legend so it’s nice to share the court with her. I’m so happy I was able to win today.
“I just tried to block the noise, and be focused on myself.”
Muchova took the opening set with a pair of well-timed breaks but Williams responded well, using sharp net play and powerful groundstrokes to break early in the second before a blistering backhand winner earned her a double break and a 5-2 lead.
She needed three set points but finally clinched the set when Muchova sent a forehand long, marking her first set won at Flushing Meadows since 2020.
But the Czech, a U.S. Open semi-finalist in each of the last two years, hit back hard in the decider as Williams’ energy faded, racing through the set to seal victory and end the American’s latest comeback bid in two hours.
Williams, whose last U.S. Open appearance ended in a 6-1 6-1 defeat by Greet Minnen in 2023, enjoyed thunderous applause with every point she won and left the court to a warm ovation from fans.
-Reuters
US OPEN
Venus Williams gets a US Open wild card at age 45 and will be the oldest in singles since 1981
Venus Williams will make her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open after a two-year absence, receiving a wild-card invitation on Wednesday to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows at age 45.
The American will be the oldest entrant in singles at the tournament since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.
Williams already had been given a wild-card entry by the U.S. Tennis Association for next week’s mixed doubles competition. Singles matches begin in New York on Aug. 24.
She is the owner of seven major singles championships — including at the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 — along with another 14 in women’s doubles, all won with her younger sister, Serena, plus two in mixed doubles. Serena retired with 23 Slam singles trophies after playing at the 2022 U.S. Open.
The older Williams last participated in a Grand Slam tournament at the 2023 U.S. Open, losing in the first round. She hasn’t won a singles match there since 2019.
When Williams came back to the tour last month at the DC Open for her first match anywhere in 16 months, a reporter asked whether that would be a one-time thing or if there were plans for other tournaments.
“I’m just here for now, and who knows?” she replied then. “Maybe there’s more. … But at the moment, I’m focused just on this. I haven’t played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player. I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.”
Last year, Williams had surgery to remove uterine fibroids and missed most of the season. In Washington this July, she competed for the first time since March 2024 at the Miami Open and became the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams also won a doubles match at the DC Open.
In the process, Williams drew a ton of attention for her tennis, yes, but also for letting the world know she’s engaged to an Italian actor and for her half-joking comments about needing to get back on court to get covered by health insurance.
“I love Venus. We’re friends. I didn’t really know this was something she was still wanting to do. But I also didn’t know it was something she didn’t want to do,” said Mark Ein, the chairman of the hard-court tournament in Washington. “I was surprised. And it was a wonderful surprise.”
Williams also entered the Cincinnati Open via a wild card last week, exiting in the first round of singles.
In New York, she will play in the Aug. 19-20 mixed doubles tournament with Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American who used to be ranked in the top 20.
Other women getting singles wild cards for the U.S. Open are Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, plus France’s Caroline Garcia — who’ll be playing in her last Grand Slam tournament before retirement — and Australia’s Talia Gibson.
Men’s wild cards went to Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic and Darwin Blanch, and France’s Valentin Royer and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.
-AP
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Naomi Osaka says 2024 is her “learning year” after coming back to the tour from a maternity break and the former world number one is trying to figure out how to better cope with the setbacks after being given a crash course in early Grand Slam exits.
Osaka has four major titles under her belt but the second round at Flushing Meadows, Wimbledon and Roland Garros was as good as it got this year for the Japanese 26-year-old, who exited the Australian Open in the first round.
On Thursday she lost 6-3 7-6(5) to Karolina Muchova, unable to get to grips with the Czech’s superb serve-and-volley tennis.
“It’s a little rough because I do take these losses really personally. It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose,” she said.
“I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”
Osaka has been a champion for mental health in sport as she publicly struggled with the pressure to succeed, telling reporters in Flushing in 2021 that she no longer felt joy – only relief – when she won.
She has a new perspective now, she says, but is having to deal with frequent disappointments after packing her schedule since returning to the tour in January after 15 months away.
“It’s been a little difficult because obviously I can only gauge how I’m doing by results. Like, I feel faster. I feel better, but I lost in the second round. So it’s a little rough,” she told reporters.
“But, also, it’s been fun playing a lot of tournaments. It’s been a commitment for sure, but I’ve been able to go to different cities that I’ve never been to.”
She lost in the second round of qualifying in Cincinnati but gave glimpses of her brilliance in New York as she handed 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko a straight-sets defeat in the first round.
“This year for me has been a learning year. I put a lot of energy and effort into all the tournaments that I played,” she said. “Obviously the U.S. Open is very special to me.”
-Reuters
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