The last American women not named Williams to enjoy tennis Grand Slam success were Jennifer Capriati (2001 French Open and 2002 Australian Open) and Lindsay Davenport (1998 U.S. Open and 1999 Wimbledon). The new generation of American women grew up watching the Williams sisters triumphing at almost every major and are now threatening to win a major themselves. The Williams sisters followed the legacy of U.S. champions leading from Chris Evert to Martina Navratilova and now have created a legacy of their own by winning 29 Grand Slam titles between them. The William sisters are far from finished and are still at the top, continuing to inspire generations.
Here are the four best American women in tennis right now:
Serena Williams
As long as you are willing to do hard work, you will have everything. Even Serena had her lows but with a lot of commitment, a lot of dedication and a lot of self-belief, she has overcome challenges. Williams has firmly established herself as America’s leading lady. Serena has won all the Grand Slams at least twice and has the same number of majors and consecutive weeks at No. 1 as Steffi Graf. Over the course of her career, which has spanned two decades, she has lost just five major finals, of which two came this season out of nowhere. Williams won Wimbledon and lost two finals but coach Patrick Mouratoglou stated it was a bad season for the American. Many would call it an exceptional season but not the Williams camp, which has set the bar so high that it is impossible to fathom until someone rises to that level.
Venus Williams
Since 2011, Venus Williams has been suffering from rheumatic autoimmune disease, which completely exhausts her and causes her pain. The legendary woman still fights hard and competes at the highest level. The five-time Wimbledon champion is 36 but still continues to contend for major titles and more often than not goes on an inspiring run. Venus went on to make the semifinals at Wimbledon before losing to Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Despite the auto-immune disorder, she still musters the energy to practice every day and win a fair share of matches. How does she manage that? Venus was again starting to look dangerous at the U.S. Open but lost a heart-stopping thriller to Karolina Pliskova in the fourth round – she had one match point but couldn’t win it. Venus suffered some surprisingly early defeats in the Asian swing but it can be excused if you are a 36-year-old competing week in week out throughout the season. At a ripe old tennis age, Venus is still ranked in the top 15 and is still one of America’s best players. It’s a testament to her fitness and never say die attitude.
Madison Keys
U.S. women’s tennis is on the rise as Madison Keys is becoming a Grand Slam title contender. She is aggressive, possesses a huge serve, has thunderous groundstrokes and likes to win points with winners rather than waiting for her opponent’s mistakes. She is young, confident and has had a consistent year. This season Keys won her second WTA title and with 46 match wins, rewarded herself with a ticket to Singapore for the WTA Finals. Keys narrowly missed out on the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio but has reached a career-high ranking of No. 7 this season. She’ll look to finish strongly in Singapore and have a final crack to breach the top five of the rankings.
Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens commanded global attention when she beat Serena Williams and went on to make the semifinals at the Australian Open and backed it up by reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2013. She has the weapons. She is quick-footed, has the raw power, she is very good surging forward and has beaten the best in the past. Stephens has beaten Serena and Maria Sharapova, but where has she disappeared? Stephens was seen as the leader of the American pack but now things have changed drastically. Madison Keys has displaced her as a top young player. Stephens made a great start to the season winning three titles, but a foot injury has cut her season short. Her indifferent form at the majors is also partially the reason for her ranking slide. Although, Stephens has slipped to the second place to Keys in the pecking order, it would be intriguing to see how long it takes to get her mantle back.
