For tennis fans, the U.S. Open is the culmination of a season-long tour filled with upsets, comebacks and historic matches unlike anything else. This time around, the American women were the talk of the U.S. Open.
While onlookers are constantly stunned by the success of the Williams sisters, not many other American women have made noise since Lindsay Davenport or Jennifer Capriati in the late 1990s. That is until now.
Four American women advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open this September, reaffirming that American tennis is as alive and well as ever. Not to mention, the four women advancing did not include American superstar Serena Williams, who gave birth earlier this month.
The four Americans, Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens, battled for the Championship title this past week on the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. To start the semifinal round, 37-year-old Venus Williams, ranked ninth in the world, faced the obvious underdog, Stephens.
Stephens went up in the first set, 6-1, but things took a quick turn as Williams took the second set, 6-0. Then, in the third set, I think we witnessed some of the best tennis of the entire tournament. Both athletes were in full force, playing for their shot at the championship match.
Stephens, unsettled in the second set, was able to refocus her game and challenge one of her childhood heroes on one of the biggest stages in tennis. The 24 year old stunned the crowd and defeated Williams in the third set, 7-5.
Meanwhile, 15th-ranked Keys would defeat 20th-ranked Vandeweghe in an uneventful 6-1, 6-2 that took only 66 minutes to complete.
Now, best friends Stephens and Keys were set to face off in the only all-American U.S. Open final without a Williams sister since 1984. But what I find even more impressive are the obstacles that both of these women overcame during their journey to the Open and the lessons we can take away from them.
Keys suffered a wrist injury and underwent surgery in January, missed the Australian Open and did not return to the court until this past March. In her first appearance since last October in the 2016 WTA Finals, Keys won her first two matches in straight sets at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open in California.
Despite her initial success, Keys lost in the first round of her next three appearances. With grit and perseverance, she eventually returned better than ever, winning the 2017 Bank of the West Classic, despite only having six wins on the season upon entering. She rose through the ranks and entered the U.S. Open this August ranked 15th in the world.
Meanwhile, Stephens was facing her own battles with injury. The Open marked one year since her withdrawal from the 2016 U.S. Open due to a stress fracture in her foot, putting her out for the season.
Like Keys, Stephens underwent surgery in January, with plans to return to the tour the following summer. Stephens made her 2017 debut at Wimbledon, entering the tournament ranked 975th.
Stephens lost in the first round — a result that would repeat itself in her next tournament appearance at the Citi Open.
However, like Keys, Stephens persisted and found a glimpse of success at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she made it all the way to the semifinals.
Thanks to her protected ranking, Stephens was able to enter the 2017 U.S. Open, but nobody expected anything from an unseeded athlete returning from injury. It turns out that the lack of pressure was a godsend for the young American trying to establish her comeback, and her career for that matter.
Not only did these women put on a fantastic show for all their fans over the duration of the tournament, but there are so many lessons that can be taken away from their challenging journey to the finals.
Injury is the most devastating thing to happen to any professional athlete. Despite having to face what was probably the biggest challenge of their careers, both Keys and Stephens made it to their first Grand Slam tournament final.
Imagine the mental toughness Stephens needed when entering the season ranked 975th, not to mention overcoming the physical challenges that follow injury.
Nevertheless, Stephens did not give up when she started at an all-time low and ended her season at an all-time high, claiming her first Grand Slam title.
