An Upset-filled U.S. Open: A New Era Of Tennis Is Here.

If you look at the results of the 2021 U.S. Open, it’s clear that a lot of the usual suspects weren’t there. #1 ranked Novak Djokovic competed in the tournament to seek the calendar grand slam, which is winning all four majors in one calendar year. Such a feat hadn’t been done since Steffi Graff achieved the calendar grand slam in 1988. A men’s tennis player hasn’t done it since Rod Laver in 1969. In this tournament Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, and more were all out because of injury. It looked like Novak had a fairly easy path to victory huh? “Not so fast!” said 25-year-old Russian phenom Danil Medvedev. In the U.S. Open Final yesterday, Medvedev dethroned Djokovic and captured the 2021 U.S. Open title, his first championship win at a major. On the women’s side, 18-year-old Emma Raducanu from England won the title against Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, who is 19!

The Young Bucks are taking over women’s tennis

The two women who were playing in the U.S Open final were both born in 2002, does that make you feel old yet? This makes the other professional women’s tennis players look childish. There are for sure a lot of terrific young players in men’s and women’s tennis, but players in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) how are you going to let a player that hasn’t even been a legal adult for more than a year win a major just like that?

I know there’s been a problem having a consistent star in women’s tennis these past several years other than Serena, but come on, an 18-year-old playing against a 19-year-old in the U.S Open Final? Step it up, other female players! Some of you have had a decade more experience playing professional tennis and you just let some kid come in and steamroll through the competition like that?

Raducanu dominated this U.S. Open

And, yes, I say steamroll because Emma Raducanu did not lose a single set the entire tournament. She was beating unranked players, ranked players. It didn’t matter. Raducanu had few problems beating her opponents. Sure, it helped that the top-ranked players lost early in the tournament. #1 Ashleigh Barty lost in the third round to Shelby Rogers, and #2 Naomi Osaka also lost in the third round. Does this discredit Raducanu’s dominance in this tournament? No, it doesn’t. Shelby Rogers beat Ashleigh Barty in three sets, the third coming down to a tiebreaker. In the next round, Raducanu beat Rogers in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Wowza. By the transitive property, #1 Barty losing to Rogers, and then Raducanu beating Rogers, does that mean Emma Raducanu is better than the #1 ranked women’s player in the world? No, not quite, unfortunately. That’s not how rankings work, but wouldn’t it be wild if it was?

Women’s tennis going forward

It’s a little early to say that Emma Raducanu is going to be one of the next big stars in women’s tennis based on one tournament, but then again, when you’re the first qualifier to win a grand slam title, I think you’ve got a great career ahead of you. I don’t think she’s going to be just a flash in the pan.

Look at Coco Gauff for example. What a run she had at Wimbledon in 2019, beating Venus Williams in the first round at the age of 15!

Since then, she’s continued her success, just recently she made it to the finals of the women’s doubles draw at the U.S. Open. Furthermore, Gauff is ranked 19th in the world in singles and 25th in doubles and she’s not even 18 years old! The difference with Raducanu though is she actually has won a grand slam singles title. That’s certainly a good start to your professional career.

Watch out female tennis veterans!

Although it’s certainly not guaranteed that Emma Raducanu is going to be a consistent star on the WTA tour, if she’s anything like Coco Gauff, she’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with. Watch out Ash Barty and Osaka! There are new sheriffs in town, and until top-ranked players like you two, along with veterans like Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber start having some consistency in winning titles, look for the young players to continue to assert themselves on the biggest stages.