American teenager Coco Gauff registered her name in the history books having won her maiden Grand Slam title at this year’s US Open. Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final to emerge victorious at the Flushing Meadows. Unlike the men’s singles, the women’s segment had more shocks, heartbreaks and surprises to offer. In this article we will recapitulate how things unfolded in the women’s campaign.
A new champion
Everyone knew that Coco Gauff would one day become a Grand Slam winner. After enduring some failed endeavors, her wait came to an end in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the calendar. The American teenager stopped Aryna Sabalenka’s juggernaut in the final to earn her maiden Grand Slam title. With this triumph, she emerged as the first American player to secure a US Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017. Gauff also became the youngest American to win the US Open women’s singles title since 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999.
A new world number one
Aryna Sabalenka did crash out of the US Open at the final stage but the Belarusian has something to cheer for. Despite not being able to bag her second Grand Slam title, Sabalenka is all set to become world number one, for the very first time in her career. The 25-year-old was in sublime form in the US Open and reached the final having dropped just a single set. Sabalenka started her final encounter against Coco Gauff on a positive note and broke the American thrice to win the first set. But she failed to carry forward the momentum. Overall, Sabalenka had an impressive Grand Slam season which includes Australian Open triumph and semi-final appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The major heartbreak
The biggest upset in the women’s singles journey of this year’s US Open was probably defending champion Iga Swiatek’s untimely elimination. The Polish tennis player’s title defence came to an end in the fourth round after she was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 by Jelena Ostapenko. The loss also marked an end to Swiatek’s reign as the number one tennis player. Ostapenko’s US Open women’s singles campaign ended in the quarterfinals after she was beaten by eventual champion Coco Gauff.
The comeback queens
While most of the players vied for the much-coveted US Open title, there were quite a few whose sole aim was to make a comeback to competitive tennis this year. Players like 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, 2021 Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, Ajla Tomljanovic, Barbora Strycova, Elina Svitolina were some of the prominent figures who made a comeback to the Flushing Meadows this time.
