Between Novak Djokovic’s loss and Emma Raducanu’s win, history was everywhere at the US Open. What does it mean going forward?
NEW YORK — The 2021 US Open is officially in the books, and it ended with titles for Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev. Just as we all predicted, right? Needless to say, it was one of the most unexpected and surprising tournaments in memory and provided unforgettable introductions to the next generation of tennis superstars. Here’s what we learned from the year’s final major — and what we can expect from the rest of the 2021 season and beyond. Serena Williams wasn’t at the tournament this year. Nor was her sister Venus, or Roger Federer, or Rafael Nadal. But while the US Open was lacking in star power to start, by the end there were plenty of new faces who seem poised to ascend the tennis hierarchy in the next few years. Sure, Novak Djokovic and his quest for the calendar slam and his 21st major title received nonstop headlines, but it was the rise of a group of talented teenagers that captivated the world. In addition to eventual surprise champion Raducanu, who was ranked No.150 in the world and had to come through qualifying to make just the second Grand Slam main draw of her career,19-year-old Leylah Fernandez was the ultimate giant slayer throughout the fortnight, defeating Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka en route to the final. And 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz recorded one of the biggest upsets of the tournament with a five-set victory over No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Coco Gauff,17, and Caty McNally,19, the longtime fan favorite duo known collectively as #McCoco, reached their first major final. They eventually lost to Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai in three sets, but further cemented their status as one of the top teams to watch — and their friendship and confidence was still on full display despite the disappointing outcome. «There’s no other person or player that I would rather do this with,» Gauff said. «I know that we’ll be Grand Slam champions eventually.» Not to mention, the ever-so-slightly-older members of Gen Z represented well for the group, too: Felix Auger-Aliassime,21, reached his first major semifinals; Jenson Brooksby,20, gave Djokovic one of his toughest battles of the tournament in the fourth round; and 20-year-old Iga Swiatek became the only woman to reach the Round of 16 at every major this year. There has been a lot of talk about the future of the sport as its biggest superstars all near the end of their illustrious careers, but it seems safe to say, tennis looks to be in very good hands — and this just might be the event that we will eventually look back on as the start of its next chapter. Not quite Gen Z but still very much a part of tennis’ future, Medvedev,25, earlier this year became the first player outside of the Big Four to crack the top two in the ATP rankings since 2005. He had reached two major finals before the 2021 US Open, but his ability to win on the sport’s biggest stage, especially with Djokovic in the mix, was firmly in doubt.
