It’s the first time since 2010 that two American women have been ranked among the world’s top five, snapping the 12-year drought since Serena and Venus Williams were No. 2 and 4, respectively.
in a prime-time gala on Arthur Ashe Stadium that followed her first-round victory at the U.S. Open, which she had indicated would be the last of her career in tellingMore recently, Williams, 41, has left the door ajar for a return to competition. But the narrative of a changing-of-the-guard atop women’s tennis is underway, much as it is in men’s tennis.
For Pegula, the Guadalajara victory was profound, her first title in a Masters 1000 event, which is one rung below a Grand Slam event in terms of ranking points, caliber of field and prestige. Winning a 1000 event, she explained afterward, had been one of her goals for the season.Monday, tweeting: “special feeling waking up Top 5 in the world in singles and doubles.
For nearly 20 years, men’s tennis has been dominated by the triumvirate of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whose 63 collective Grand Slam singles titles have scarcely allowed anyone else to make a mark of consequence. With Nadal the lone among them to compete at this year’s U.S. Open, the 128-player men’s field was deemed wide open. It was won by a teenager — the 19-year-old Alcaraz, whose grit conjured memories of a young Nadal. Alcaraz has since risen to No. 1 in the world.