Aryna Sabalenka thought she had everything figured out. She believed she had done all the work necessary, harnessing successfully her once uncontrollable power into consistent excellence. After overcoming so many hurdles en route to becoming the best player in the world, she felt ready for anything. Sabalenka was convinced she could handle any challenge that came her way. It was not until her excruciating French Open final defeat against Coco Gauff that Sabalenka understood this was not true.
Going into this Grand Slam, Townsend had nowhere near the star power or the name recognition of fellow Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and she is not even seeded in singles play. Yet the 29-year-old, who is half of the top-ranked women's doubles team in the world and was No 1 as a junior player, has become one of the biggest stories of the tournament through no fault of her own.
This article was last updated in 2022 but, with the US Open upon us, we're giving it another swing. Tennis is a sport of personal intensity and triumph. Granted, there are ways to play tennis in teams, from doubles to Billie Jean King's long-standing dream of making World Team Tennis one of our major sports. But at its core, tennis is about individuals, which is why it lends itself surprisingly well to the movies.
NEW YORK -- When Frances Tiafoe walked onto the court on Monday for his first-round match at the US Open, he knew it could be the last time he had the chance to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It wasn't Yoshihito Nishioka, his far less seasoned opponent, or the back injury that plagued him earlier this month in Cincinnati, or even a lack of confidence that made him feel that way.
Canada's Victoria Mboko's U.S. Open debut ended early with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in a women's first-round singles match Monday. Mboko was playing her first match since claiming the National Bank Open title in Montreal earlier this month. The rising star from Toronto, who turns 19 on Tuesday, arrived at Flushing Meadows the women's 22nd seed.
Jessica Pegula is a force on the tennis court. While at the Bad Homburg Open on June 28, she clinched a 6-4, 7-5 win against Iga Swiatek, marking her ninth career singles title. This match followed the ATX Open in Texas and the Credit One Charleston Open in South Carolina - both of which she won. The professional tennis player also competed in the Miami Open and Wimbledon this year, and she's set to take the court again at the U.S. Open in Queens, New York, where she'll play singles and mixed doubles.
