“I know I wouldn’t want her in my draw,“ is what the WTA legend Martina Navratilova said after witnessing the rapid rise of Danielle Collins. While the ongoing season saw other players like Coco Gauff, Emma Navarro, and Jessica Pegula make their mark, it was hard for the community to ignore the growing dominance of American women. As the competition moves to North America, Pegula highlights how she and her compatriots are flourishing.

Pegula, in the semifinal of Toronto and a step away from her title defense match, shared her thoughts on the state of American women’s tennis during an interview after reaching the quarterfinals. When asked about the achievements of American women, especially considering that five of them made it to the quarterfinals, Pegula explained how the dominant hand is changing.

“Yeah, it’s been awesome. I feel like we’ve been strong, really for the last few years. The depth has been really good. It’s amazing we have five girls in the top 15, which is a crazy stat,” she said.

Along with that, Pegula also highlighted the unique challenges faced by American women in tennis. “It’s tough being in the U.S. and playing tennis because there are so many bigger sports,” she said. The achievements of American WTA stars are undeniable. Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro, and Madison Keys have all made their mark in the top 15 rankings.

The WTA star also expressed her excitement for the younger generation, saying it was really cool to see the “younger crop” performing well. She further said how they have a long career ahead of them, with Gauff being the youngest. “Especially showing obviously already, Coco’s already a Grand Slam champion at such a young age.“

However, this wasn’t the first time Jessica Pegula boasted about the strengths of her nation’s WTA stars. “You don’t usually see a lot of players playing, but for us, I think we enjoy it, and we use it as a chance to get better in singles as well,” she said regarding her doubles campaign at the Paris Olympics alongside Gauff.

While the WTA pros highlighted the growth of women’s tennis, others explained why men’s tennis never really experienced a notable rise. 

Patrick Mouratoglou explains why men’s tennis couldn’t flourish in the US

The U.S. Open 2019 saw four American women reaching the fourth round and one making it to the finals. During the tournament, three American women, including Venus, Madison Keys, and Sloane Stephens, were ranked in the top 10. Along with that, Sofia Kenin was in the top 20, and three others were ranked No. 36 or better. Overall, 13 American women were in the top 100 back in the season, a list that also included the rising star Coco Gauff. Today, there are seven women in the top 50 alone. 

However, the American ATP stars aren’t anywhere close to this number. Former coach of Holger Rune, Patrick Mouratoglou, shared his thoughts with ESPN.com, saying, “I can’t comment on what the USTA is doing, but something more general applies. When you have a star in any sport in any country, the kids want to be like him or her. And the U.S. doesn’t have a male tennis star who can compare with Serena and Venus Williams.“

Players like Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton have shown great improvement, but even they ultimately fall flat. There’s an absence of a notable role model in American men’s tennis and it still remains to be seen when the youth will get to cherish one.