Last year’s US Open final featured two teenagers for the first time since the 1999 US Open — where a 17-year-old Serena Williams won her first major title against an 18-year-old Martina Hingis.

At the 2021 Grand Slam, unseeded 18-year-old Emma Raducanu beat out unseeded 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez for her own inaugural major title.

In total, teenagers have won 11 US Open women’s singles titles during the Open era, dating back to 16-year-old Tracy Austin’s win at Flushing Meadows in 1979.

As Williams prepares for her final US Open and Raducanu prepares for her title defense, Just Women’s Sports takes a look at five teenagers who could make waves at this year’s tournament.

Coco Gauff

While Raducanu and Fernandez are both 19 as the tournament begins, the obvious choices will not be included on our list. But nestled between No. 11 Raducanu and No. 14 Fernandez in the world rankings sits No. 12 Coco Gauff.

In June, the same month in which she graduated from high school, the American made – and subsequently lost – her first Grand Slam final at the French Open. Still, the loss showed that the 18-year-old is ready to step onto the sport’s biggest stages.

Since then, she’s rocketed to No. 1 in the doubles world rankings, and she is oh so close on the singles side.

She represents the leading edge of the next generation of American tennis, a heavy burden to bear with Williams’ retirement approaching. Still, Gauff has taken the pressure in stride.

And if Gauff is truly the next American superstar, then it would be all too fitting for her first major to come at the US Open that is to be the final chapter for one of the game’s all-time-greats.

Gauff’s health could be a question mark, as she had to pull out of the Cincinnati Open after rolling her ankle in the first round, but she has described the injury as “really minor.”

Qinwen Zheng

Ranked at a career-high No. 41, 19-year old Qinwen Zheng is another player who has the talent to make a deep run.

Zheng turned heads at the French Open in May. In her fourth-round match, she won a set in a tiebreak against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was in the midst of her 37-match win streak. In a show of Swiatek’s dominance but also Zheng’s ability, the set was the only one Swiatek dropped en route to the title at Roland Garros.

The Chinese teen followed that up with a win against 2018 US Open champion Sloane Stephens at Wimbledon. Zheng made it to the third round before losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina.

In her most recent tournament, she became the first Chinese player to advance to the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open since Na Li in 2013. While No. 1 seed Ons Jabeur had to retire in their second-round match, Zheng took the first set of that match 6-1. She backed up that walkover with a win over Bianca Andreescu before falling in three sets to Karolina Pliskova.

What a finish! #NBO22

19-year-old Qinwen Zheng takes down Canada's own Andreescu 7-5 5-7 6-2 to reach the Quarterfinals! Faces Pliskova next. pic.twitter.com/YWSU3V6X78

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 12, 2022

Clara Tauson

At 19 years old, Clara Tauson of Denmark has made a splash. The youngest Danish champion since Caroline Wozniacki, she turned pro in 2019.

While she currently sits 58th in the world, Tauson has risen as high as 33rd. She won 42 matches in her breakout 2021 season.

Her best major finish so far came at the Australian Open in January, as she upset sixth-seeded Anett Kontaveit in the second round before falling to Danielle Collins in the third.

A month later, she made her WTA 1000 main draw debut in Qatar, where she beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in straight sets before losing to third-seeded Paula Badosa. And a month after that, at Indian Wells, she advanced to the third round before losing in three sets to eventual champion Swiatek during her streak.

Tauson has dealt with back injuries since then, however, having to withdraw from the Italian Open and Wimbledon. At the Cincinnati Open she was ousted in the first qualifying round by Ajla Tomlajanovic in straight sets, but she bested Harmony Tan in the round of 32 at Tennis in the Land.

Diane Parry

Diane Parry has had a career year, reaching the third round at both the French Open and Wimbledon. Ranked at a career-high No. 76, the 18-year-old is coming off a loss in the Cincinnati qualifiers – but it came in three sets against eventual champion Caroline Garcia.

Parry is one of just two players in the top 100 to play with a single-handed backhand, but she uses the relatively rare shot to her advantage.

She made an impression at Roland Garros, knocking off defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in three sets in the first round. At the same tournament in 2019, a 16-year-old Parry became the youngest woman to win a main-draw match at the major since 2009.

At Wimbledon, she beat former world No. 15 Kaia Kanepi in straight sets before losing to third-seeded Ons Jabeur in the third round.

🇫🇷 Teenage Dream 🇫🇷

19-year-old Diane Parry dethrones defending champion Krejcikova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to become the lowest-ranked woman to beat the No.2 seed in Paris since No.114 Rus upset Clijsters in 2011#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/WcGUtJYoiW

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 23, 2022

Linda Nosková

In the first round at the French Open in May, Nosková lost to Raducanu in three sets after taking the first in a tiebreak. The loss came after the 17-year-old made her way through qualifiers as the reigning junior 2021 Roland Garros champion, becoming the youngest qualifier at the major in 13 years.

Nosková has been more active on the lower-tier ITF tour this year, winning in Germany and France and making the semifinals of tournaments in Kazakhstan and Spain. But her two WTA events this year, Nosková made it to the semifinals.

In Prague, she beat Alizé Cornet in the fourth round before losing to Marie Bouzkova in the semis, while at the Makarska Open in Croatia she had an easy time reaching the semifinals before falling to Jule Niemeier.

With those runs, the world No. 88 became just the second player born after 2004 to make a WTA semifinal, joining Gauff.

Into her first career Tour-level quarterfinal 👏

🇨🇿 Linda Noskova defeats Cornet to reach the last eight in Prague!#PragueOpen pic.twitter.com/4HYlIXlJ3v

— wta (@WTA) July 28, 2022

The year's final major tennis tournament begins on Saturday when the sport's highest-ranked athletes descend on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete in the 2024 WTA Finals.

Featuring the eight best singles players and eight best doubles teams, Slam winners and Olympic medalists alike will compete for the Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova trophies before the winter break.

Also up for grabs is a piece of the record $15.25 million prize pool, larger than any Grand Slam purse and a nearly 70% increase over the 2023 pot. Should the champions go undefeated through the tournament, the singles winner will bank $5.155 million, while the top doubles duo will take home $1.125 million.

Eight days of elite tennis action

In both the WTA Finals singles and doubles categories, competitors are split into two groups of four.

Each singles player or doubles pair will play all others in their group for a total of three matches across the first six days. The top two in each group will then compete in the November 8th semifinals, with both finals set for November 9th.

In the singles contest, the Purple Group includes No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 5 Elena Rybakina, and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, while the Orange Group lists No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková.

In both competitions, 25% of the top eight athletes represent the USA. Along with Gauff and Pegula on the singles court, the doubles tournament includes No. 5 US duo Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk as well as Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend in the Nos. 6 and 8 pairs, respectively.

Will Sabalenka play Świątek at the WTA Finals?

A showdown between Sabalenka and 2023 WTA Finals champion Świątek could be the event's blockbuster match. The top-ranked players have yet to square off in a major tournament in 2024 — a year rife with highs and lows for both athletes.

Sabalenka started the WTA season by winning her second Australian Open, then later struggled through a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. She capped the Grand Slam season in style, though, winning her first US Open in September.

As for five-time Grand Slam victor Świątek, 2024 brought the Polish phenom her fourth French Open title. A rockier second half to the season — including a third round and quarterfinal ousting from Wimbledon and the US Open, and a fall from the No. 1 ranking for the first time since November 2023 — motivated Świątek to seek a new coach.

How to watch the 2024 WTA Finals tennis tournament

The 2024 WTA Finals kicks off on Saturday, when US Open winner Sabalenka plays 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng at 11 AM ET.

Later, 2023 US Open champ Gauff will take on 2024 US Open runner-up Pegula at 8:45 AM ET on Sunday.

All 2024 WTA Finals matches will be broadcast live on the Tennis Channel.

In today’s episode of the Late Sub, host Claire Watkins wraps up the USWNT's October window with a look at the team’s 3-0 win over Argentina, from how rotation became the US’s strength to center back Naomi Girma's unparalleled ability to do it all.

Then, Watkins refocuses on the NWSL, where six of the league's 14 clubs will complete their 2024 seasons this weekend. First, however, the league will determine the eight playoff teams, pulling from a postseason race that could come down to Sunday's final regular-season match.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

The NWSL's final weekend is all drama, complete with heated clashes that will determine the last two postseason berths and nearly all seeding for the 2024 NWSL playoffs.

While Shield-winners Orlando are secure at the top, the Pride will be desperate for a Saturday win over Seattle as they try and replace their two straight losses with some postseason momentum.

At the same time, Washington, Gotham, and Kansas City will all be jockeying for the No. 2 seed this weekend. While the Spirit and Current must contend with playoff-bound North Carolina and Chicago, respectively, Gotham's Friday matchup against a surging Utah looks surprisingly competitive.

Three NWSL teams battle over two playoff tickets

Seeding race aside, the final matchday's main event is an NWSL version of musical chairs in which three clubs — Portland, Bay FC, and Racing Louisville — will duke it out for the league's final two playoff spots.

The seventh-place Thorns and eighth-place Bay FC currently sit three points ahead of ninth-place Louisville, allowing both to clinch berths with either a win or a draw. If Portland and Bay walk with at least one point each, the postseason lineup will be settled before Sunday.

Should one or both teams lose, it'll all come down to Sunday's regular-season finale, where a win over San Diego plus a tie-breaking goal differential could send Louisville through to the quarterfinals.

The high-stakes elimination games

With the most on the line, Portland will shoot to extend their season — and goalscoring legend Christine Sinclair's career — against an already-eliminated Angel City side with nothing to lose on Friday. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the up-and-down Thorns have lost three of their last four matches, while ACFC has only dropped one in the same stretch.

Bay FC arguably received a season finale gift in a Saturday visit to the Houston Dash, who finish the year at the bottom of the NWSL table. That said, one of the Dash's five wins this season came in a 3-2 Bay defeat at the end of March. Plus, with the worst goal differential of the three teams still in postseason contention, Bay will want to clinch with a Saturday result rather than gamble on potential tiebreakers.

As mentioned, a Portland or Bay loss sets up Sunday's final tilt as the weekend's biggest match, where Louisville will need to do better than their scoreless April draw with San Diego to usurp one of the West Coast squads's playoff spots.

How to watch this weekend's NWSL playoff elimination matches

Portland and ACFC will kick off the NWSL's make-or-break action on Friday at 10 PM ET on Prime before Houston hosts Bay on Saturday at 9:30 PM ET, airing on ION.

Should chaos rule the weekend, Louisville's match against San Diego will cap both the 2024 NWSL regular season and the playoff picture on Sunday at 5:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.

Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!

On today's special Halloween episode, our hosts show up to set dressed as the fastest of friends: race care drivers.

O'Hara and Leslie then dive into the USWNT's October friendlies, discussing the young talent on display as well as the way the team holds consistent focus even when falling behind on the score sheet.

"I think [that's] a testament to Emma's influence already on this team," O'Hara says, praising head coach Emma Hayes's ability to keep her players from getting rattled. "I get the sense that she has already [said], 'Shit's gonna happen. We stick to the game plan, we stick to what we're good at, and the goals will come.'"

"Soccer's about riding the wave, its ebbs and flows," O'Hara adds. "Sometimes you gotta weather the storm, but if you are confident and all on the same game plan, you're gonna be able to execute."

Then, the duo pivot to discuss all things WNBA. Leslie looks into the reasons why the WNBPA is opting out of their CBA from both the players' and league's perspective, before digging into a recent flood of head coach exits that have left seven of the league's 12 current teams without a leader.

Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.

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