US Open 2017: Are Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys the future of US women's tennis?
Saturday 9 September 2017 21:04, UK
The US Open women’s final offers an optimistic glimpse into the future of American tennis which, for so long, has been centred around Serena Williams’ success.
The absence of the 23-time Grand Slam champion opened a significant door, which has been taken advantage of by Williams' younger compatriots Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys who will contest the title on Saturday night.
Aged 24 and 22, respectively, Stephens and Keys' presence at the final hurdle of Flushing Meadows' gruelling fortnight is a hugely positive sign for the post-Williams era.
While Serena and her elder sister Venus still have Grand Slam challenges left in them, at 35 and 37 it was time for younger pretenders to announce themselves.
Stephens' ranking of 957th earlier this year was a red herring due to her time spent recovering from injury, but nevertheless her ascent to the US Open final is a remarkable comeback. She is expected to become world No 22 next week, a stunning increase of over 900 ranking places.
Her win against Venus in the semi-finals may yet be a torch passing moment. Venus herself was experiencing something of a renaissance, having lost in the Wimbledon and Australian Open finals in the past year.
Stephens is likely to be favoured against Keys, who was the world No 16 heading into the tournament. Keys beat CoCo Vandeweghe convincingly in straight sets in their semi-final, but a medical time-out plus bandaging around her leg might act as a warning signal.
Whoever triumphs, the real winner will be American tennis which will be a step closer to crowning a successor to the Williams sisters.
Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action from the US Open women's final covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with our live blogs and updates as the Grand Slam year reaches its climax.
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We will also have coverage of the World Tour Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports.
