American fan favorite Coco Goff and next-time world number one Alina Sabalenka of Belarus face off on Thursday for their first career U.S. Open final.
Rookie Goff, 19, will face last French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic at 7:00 pm local time (23:00 GMT).
Next, Sabalenka will have to overcome surprise guest American Madison Keys in the semifinals, as well as the New York public supporting the homegrown player.
The 28-year-old Keys made her return to the Grand Slam semifinal, a tournament she hasn’t played since 2018, but the undisputed sensation in New York is her younger compatriot Coco Goff.
The Delray Beach (Fla.) jewel has had her career under the magnifying glass since breaking into Wimbledon in 2019 when, at the age of 15, she gave Venus Williams a Stunning and symbolic victory.
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Since then, US Tennis has hoped to produce a successor to the Williams sisters, and now awaits its rise to greatness in New York.
So far, Gauff is the youngest American semifinalist to reach the tournament’s semifinals since her idol Serena Williams in 1999.
Although Gauff already knows the heights of a Grand Slam final, which ended with a loss at the French Open in 2022, Gauff is in the midst of lifting her first two major trophies in Washington (WTA 500) and Cincinnati (WTA 1000) in August. Best state.
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With an incredible ten-game winning streak, her final hurdle to Saturday’s final will be Karolina Muchova, the victim of the Cincinnati final three weeks ago.
The 27-year-old Czech, who dropped just one set en route to the semi-finals, is determined to end a dream season, leaping from No. 151 in the WTA rankings to a top-10 finish and reaching the French Open final.
Arina Sabalon of Belarus in losses to favorites such as Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur or Jessica Pegula Ka (Aryna Sabalenka) has proven herself to be the most consistent player on the big stage today.
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Sabalenka will play her fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final on Thursday, a steady performance that ensures she makes her first foray into the WTA No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament.
However, there is still an open question for the Belarusian about how to realize those chances in the title race.
In his previous four semi-finals, he has only reached the final once, and that was at this year’s Australian Open, where he opened his Grand Slam show.
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Of the remaining crosses, he broke his opponent in the third set.
In New York, which has lost to finals the past two years, Sabalenka will have a great opportunity to show her mental growth this Thursday.
She will face 2017 runner-up veteran Madison Keys and be backed by the world’s biggest and noisiest circuit (23,000 seats).
Keys vindicated his run to the semi-finals with victories over third-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula and former Wimbledon champion Matata Vanderusova of the Czech Republic.
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