Serena Williams is a singular talent, defining and inspiring a generation of American tennis.

Yet her retirement is on the horizon. The 23-time Grand Slam champion plans to step away from the sport after the 2022 US Open, and the question of who will take up the torch as the next American superstar remains up in the air.

Sloane Stephens, Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula, among others, have emerged amid Williams’ rise to superstardom, but none have taken the mantle.

As Williams prepares to depart, though, a crop of young, promising talent is on the rise in the United States. As they make names for themselves on the world stage, the next generation of American tennis is upon us.

Meet the next generation of American tennis

Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff’s rise resembles Williams’ in many ways, with the young Black star taking the tennis world by storm as a teenage prodigy.

“I grew up watching her,” Gauff said of Williams in August. “I mean that’s the reason why I play tennis. Tennis being a predominantly white sport it definitely helped a lot. Because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game. It made me believe that I could dominate, too.”

And dominate she has. In 2019, Gauff became the youngest player ever to break into Wimbledon’s main draw at 15 years and three months old.

Fast-forward three years and Gauff continues to dazzle. Now 18, she made an appearance in a Grand Slam final in June, falling to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the French Open.

Even at her young age, Gauff is known for her poise. She possesses a composed yet competitive demeanor on the court that sets her apart from her peers.

Known for her stellar movement and court awareness, Gauff possesses a tennis I.Q. well beyond her years. In the midst of her meteoric rise, Gauff has worked to improve her forehand, striving to match the pace and consistency of her lethal two-handed backhand.

Ranked No. 12 in the world, Gauff is the second highest ranked American player, four places below Pegula, who is 10 years her senior.

Gauff enters the US Open, set to kick off on Aug. 29, after suffering a minor ankle sprain at the Cincinnati Masters. The injury, though, is “really minor,” according to Gauff, who reassured fans that “the world is not ending” in a post on Instagram.

The Atlanta native will look to improve upon her third-round run at Flushing Meadows in 2019. If she does, she will establish herself as a force to be reckoned with at her home Grand Slam.

THIS is what the crowd came to see 🔥@CocoGauff | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/95FLcGQpmo

— wta (@WTA) August 16, 2022

Madison Keys

At 27 years old, Madison Keys does not quite fit the label of an up-and-coming talent. The Illinois native already has enjoyed a successful career, including an appearance at the 2017 US Open final and semifinal appearances at the 2015 and 2022 Australian Open and the 2018 French Open.

Keys’ run on tour has had ups and downs. Still, she managed an important breakthrough in Cincinnati, defeating Swiatek in straight sets at the US Open warmup for her first-ever win over a reigning world No. 1. She followed up the landmark victory with a quarterfinal win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Her impressive showing in Ohio could signal a mid-career renaissance for Keys. The world No. 20 will aim to make a similar run in Flushing Meadows for her maiden Grand Slam title.

Madison's MOMENT ⭐️

2019 champion 🇺🇸 @Madison_Keys records her first-ever victory over a World No.1, taking out Swiatek, 6-3, 6-4 on home soil!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/GjrBHcXJe5

— wta (@WTA) August 18, 2022

Amanda Anisimova

Amanda Anisimova exploded onto the international tennis scene with a semifinal appearance at the 2019 French Open, which helped catapult her to a career-high No. 21 ranking.

Three years later, the 20-year-old sits at No. 24, and she has two career titles to her name.

Aminsova deploys an aggressive game against her opponents, blasting flat, powerful groundstrokes from the baseline. Her two-handed backhand is her secret weapon, and she produces an impressive number of winners off her preferred stroke.

The Florida native’s season hit a snag when she was forced to withdraw from her round of 32 matchup in Cincinnati due to an ankle injury.

While the injury could spell trouble for her US Open chances, she undoubtedly is a shining star in the next wave of American players.

Missed this while you were 😴 ?

Amanda Anisimova pulled off a stunning straight-sets win againt Lepchenko at @CopaWTABogota ! pic.twitter.com/0tG1JBOvKP

— wta (@WTA) April 11, 2019

The US Open will start Aug. 29 in New York and run through Sept. 11.

The biggest victors in the WNBA last weekend were the Seattle Storm, as the fifth-place contenders took down the last two league champions to record six wins in their last seven games.

The Storm first took down 2022 and 2023 champs Las Vegas 90-83 on Friday before toppling reigning title-winners New York 89-79 on Sunday.

Guard Skylar Diggins and forward Nneka Ogwumike powered Seattle's two games, putting up 44 and 51 points, respectively, over the weekend.

Forward Gabby Williams also helped fuel the Storm's weekend with two double-double performances.

Seattle is now just one game behind the similarly surging fourth-place Atlanta Dream, while trailing the red-hot No. 3 Phoenix Mercury by 1.5 games.

"Staying ready is what the group is," Storm head coach Noelle Quinn told reporters on Friday. "They're professionals, they're vets."

Teams at the top of the WNBA standings aren't the only squads that saw weekend success, as the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries snagged their second win in a row with Sunday's 87-63 thrashing of the last-place Connecticut Sun.

Despite registering Friday losses, both No. 7 Las Vegas and the No. 9 Washington Mystics finished the weekend on a high note, earning big Sunday wins over the No. 8 Indiana Fever and No. 12 Dallas Wings, respectively.

How to watch the Seattle Storm this week

The Storm will suit back up for another tricky WNBA test on Tuesday, when Seattle hosts the always-dangerous Indiana Fever at 10 PM ET.

The game will air live on NBA TV.

The reigning champion New York Liberty battled through injury and absences over the weekend, narrowly retaining their second-place spot in the WNBA standings despite seeing their losing streak extend to two games with Sunday's 89-79 stumble against the Seattle Storm.

Already missing starting guard Leonie Fiebich, who is overseas competing at the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament, the Liberty also played without center Jonquel Jones and guard Sabrina Ionescu.

While Ionescu is day-to-day with a neck issue, Jones will miss four to six weeks of action due to an ankle injury, the team announced on Saturday.

Despite dropping three of their last four matchups, the champs appear to be taking their recent downturn in stride.

"This isn't going to be the hardest thing that we face all season," said forward Breanna Stewart after Sunday's loss. "We have to kind of embrace the adversity a little bit, whether it's we're down players or things happen in the middle of the game."

New York wasn't the only team in trouble this weekend, though, as the Indiana Fever followed up last Thursday's stumble against the Golden State Valkyries with an 89-81 Sunday loss to the Las Vegas Aces.

Fever guard Caitlin Clark is now one-for-17 from behind the arc in her last two games, as Indiana struggles to break out of their eighth-place standing.

How to watch the New York Liberty this week

New York will hope for added firepower in order to snap their losing streak on Wednesday, when they'll face a rising Golden State squad at 10 PM ET.

Coverage of the game will air live on WNBA League Pass.

The NWSL is officially taking a breather, with the league kicking off the 2025 extended summer break after a roller-coaster weekend slate.

With half the of the 26-match regular season in the books, the No. 1 Kansas City Current extended their lead on the NWSL table to a towering eight points after defeating No. 11 Angel City 1-0 on Friday.

Helping balloon Kansas City's lead was No. 7 Racing Louisville, who kept No. 2 Orlando from claiming any points by securing a 2-0 upset win over the Pride on Friday.

With wins in five of their last seven matches, Louisville's refreshed roster has Racing entering the 2025 summer break with a 6-5-2 NWSL record, as the 2021 expansion side zeros in on a franchise-first playoff run.

"It's all about us. We're not really focused on the other team like we did a little last year," said midfielder Taylor Flint. "What are we going to do — what's our identity? I think that's a huge part of how we've been winning all these games."

On the other end of the table, the bottom four NWSL teams — Angel City, the No. 12 Houston Dash, No. 13 Chicago Stars, and No. 14 Utah Royals — will be looking for a major midseason reboot, after none managed to register a single win in the last five matchdays.

"We go from here, we break now, recharge, and we will be a very difficult opponent for a lot of teams in the second part of the season. That is our target now," said Angel City head coach Alexander Straus after Friday's loss.

There's still a lot left in 2025 NWSL play, with skidding teams banking on fresh starts while surging squads prepare to hit the ground running as soon as the season picks back up in August.

Australian golfer Minjee Lee came out on top at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, lifting the third major tournament trophy of her career on Sunday.

Entering the final round atop the leaderboard, Lee never relinquished the lead, finishing the tournament a solid three strokes ahead of the competition.

"I definitely was nervous starting the day," the 29-year-old acknowledged following her win. "I looked calm, but not as calm as everybody thinks."

The win earned Lee both an 18-spot rankings boost to world No. 6 and a $1.8 million cut of the event's $12 million prize pool.

Finishing the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship just behind Lee in a second-place tie were 21-year-old Thai pro and new world No. 29 Chanettee Wannasaen and 24-year-old US standout and new No. 49 Auston Kim. Each took home $944,867 thanks to their four-day performances.

Kim, in particular, cobbled together a massive comeback run, chipping away at her nine-stroke deficit entering the competition's final round to claim the best finish of her young career.

"I'm very proud of what I did," the LPGA Tour sophomore said afterwards. "Obviously, the result was really good, but I'm really happy how I handled myself, my emotions, all the adversity. The course is playing really, really tough, but I feel like this week my team and I were very locked in."

Notably, the tournament's top three finishers were the only participants to finish below par, as the field struggled with a punishing week of both Texas heat and windier-than-usual conditions.