Coco Gauff is bidding to become the first woman to win consecutive U.S. Open titles since Serena Williams a decade ago.
Gauff, seeded third, begins her title defence against Varbara Graczeva, the French player ranked 66th in the world, on Monday at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York.
If she retains her seeding, Gauff will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals.
Last year, Gauff beat Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final to become the youngest American player to win a Grand Slam singles title since Williams won the first of her 23 titles at the 1999 U.S. Open.
Read more: US Open Men’s Draw
Gauff also ended the longest Grand Slam singles title drought in U.S. history (for either man or woman) since Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open.
This year, no American players have reached the men’s or women’s singles finals at the Australian Open, French Open or Wimbledon. At least one American player has reached a Grand Slam singles final every year since the modern era (and at least one American woman has reached a final in every year but one).
The U.S. Open is his final chance to extend that streak.
Gauff has failed to reach the quarterfinals in her last four tournaments, but fellow Frenchwoman Jessica Pegula reached two U.S. Open warm-up finals in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, ranked number one in the world, is bidding for her sixth Grand Slam singles title, which would break the record held by Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis and move her to within one of Venus Williams and Justine Henin.
2024 US Open Women’s Singles Matchups