E-Paper
US Open 2023: American tennis scripts history with 43 players in main draw
The 43 Americans competing at the US Open include 24 women and 19 men
American tennis is set to script history as 43 players, including both men and women, are set to feature in the singles main draws at the US Open, scheduled to begin today. This is the highest number of participants coming from a single country to take part in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year. In the previous three majors, the United States led in terms of players taking part. The 43 Americans competing at the US Open include 24 women and 19 men. This number in the women’s category is the second-highest in the history of the US Open. The 2020 edition of the tournament featured 32 women players from the US.
Among the 19 male participants who went into the singles main draw, five booked the ticket based on their world rankings. This is the highest number of seeded players from America featuring at the US Open, since 2004. Among them, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe occupy a place in the top ten of the ATP rankings, while the other seeded players are Tommy Paul, Chris Eubanks and Sebastian Korda.
Tiafoe is desperate to clinch the US Open title this year after facing an elimination from the semi-finals last year. He also became the first American man to qualify for the semis of the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2006. Tiafoe lost to the eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz last year.
Sharing his feelings about returning to the Arthur Ashe Stadium this year, Tiafoe told ESPN, “It’s going to give me goosebumps. I’m already really excited. I want to win the US Open this year and I’m going to give everything I’ve got for that event.”
American women, who earned their qualification for the US Open based on ATP rankings, include Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys. They are also tipped to be the contenders for the women’s singles title. Among others, Fiona Crawley, Katie Volynets and Sachia Vickery showed their prowess in the qualifying campaign and won three matches to confirm a berth in the main event.
Gauff will be eager to make a roaring comeback in front of her home crowd. Following her Wimbledon defeat, the 19-year-old has put all her focus on improving her game to appear as a major contender at the Flushing Meadows. Gauff recently told news agency Associated Press that the loss at Wimbledon took a massive toll on her mental state as she could not “leave the room for two days.” A few days back, Gauff won the women’s singles title at the Cincinnati Open by defeating Karolina Muchova in the final.
