Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina – the WTA Tour’s unofficial ‘Big Three’ – have combined to win five of the past six major titles. But their recent Grand Slam dominance could be threatened by two Americans who are thriving on home soil and eyeing a career breakthrough.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have between them claimed the three biggest titles leading into the US Open. Gauff’s first 500-level title in Washington DC was followed by Pegula’s victorious week at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. Gauff then backed up her own win with an even bigger title in Cincinnati, also a WTA 1000 event.
consider it swept 🇺🇸👏🏼 https://t.co/dtjykGOrCl
— Jessie Pegula (@JPegula) August 20, 2023
It is the first time in the Open Era that American women have scooped the Canada and Cincinnati titles in the same season.
"That's so cool,” Gauff responded when told of this milestone on the WTA Insider Podcast.
"It really just made me excited, off of that reaction. The Williams sisters carried the country for so long; not that Jess and I are the Williams sisters (laughter) but we did one thing they didn't do. And they did a lot of things that we'll probably never do, but that's OK (laughter).
"I'm really happy that we're both doing well. That's a cool stat, to say that it's never been done before.”
The leading Americans – Pegula is ranked world No.3, Gauff No.6 – are seeking to become the first US-born singles champion at Flushing Meadows since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
Considering their form in recent weeks, there is a distinct possibility one of them could go all the way.
With Pegula’s Montreal title, she released the Big Three’s grip over the top three spots in the WTA rankings, displacing Rybakina from the No.3 position. It puts her back at a career-high ranking.
She scored a notable win over top-ranked Swiatek in the semifinals, after ending Gauff’s six-match winning streak in the quarterfinals.
“It feels great. I worked through. Beating Coco and beating Iga were two really tough wins back-to-back, and being able to do that and then just come out today and play a really clean match was kind of great,” Pegula said after dismissing Liudmila Samsonova in a 49-minute final.
“Winning a week like this week makes it all worth it and makes you want to keep going for more.”
Victory is a habit right now for Pegula, who has won eight of 10 hard-court matches so far during the North American summer swing.
The 29-year-old is one of the tour’s most consistent players, and what’s more, this consistency is coming on the biggest stages.
In the past 15 months, she has appeared in three WTA 1000 finals, winning two. Since the beginning of 2021, she is averaging over 40 match wins per season, and has beaten 14 top-10 players.
RELATED: Pegula's path to the game's elite
In that same span, she has also reached six Grand Slam quarterfinals. Given how close she came to her first major semifinal this year at Wimbledon, motivation will be high when she arrives in New York.
Pegula’s progress is proving an inspiration to her friend and doubles partner Gauff, who has won 11 of her 12 matches, including 22 of 26 sets.
Gauff swatted aside three top-20 players – Belinda Bencic, Liudmila Samsonova and Maria Sakkari – to win in Washington DC. In Cincinnati, she beat Roland Garros finalists Swiatek and Karolina Muchova in back-to-back matches to claim her fourth title of the season.
The teenager’s win over Swiatek was a breakthrough, her first over the world No.1 in eight meetings. One of those prior defeats came in the 2022 Roland Garros final, her best result to date at a major.
Gauff’s form spike coincides with more stability and trust in her forehand, better footwork around the ball when in attacking positions, and a revitalised coaching set-up featuring Pere Riba and consultant Brad Gilbert.
After a shock first-round loss at Wimbledon just over six weeks ago, she now appears a transformed player.
“Other than the win today (in the final), it was definitely the (semifinal) win against Iga,” Gauff told WTA Insider, when asked about her Cincinnati highlight.
“I think that put a lot of confidence in me for today. Especially after the loss (to Pegula) in Montreal, sometimes you win a title, and then you lose and you go back to your old ways. I didn't really let that loss affect me. It made me more motivated to get better.
“Jess played an incredible match. I think that just inspired me even more. And honestly, seeing her beat Iga last week gave me some hope because I was like, I got close to beating her and I've beaten Jess before, so it gave me some hope that maybe this was my time.
“I'm going to try to take this level, and an even higher level into the US Open.”