Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff move into top five in rankings

Following her triumph Sunday in the Guadalajara Open, Pegula, 28, vaulted to No. 3 in the world rankings, achieving a career high after 13 years on the pro tour,

Fellow American Coco Gauff, 18, made a parallel leap alongside her good friend and frequent doubles partner, reaching a career-high No. 4 when this weeks Womens Tennis Association rankings were computed.

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Its the first time since 2010 that two American women have been ranked among the Worlds top five, snapping the 12-year drought since Serena and Venus Williams were No. 2 and 4, respectively.

It was just eight weeks ago that the tennis world bid Farewell to Serena Williams in a prime-time Gala on Arthur Ashe Stadium that followed her first-round Victory at the US Open, which she had indicated would be the last of her career in telling Vogue that she was evolving away from tennis.

More recently, Williams, 41, has left the door open for a return to competition. But the narrative of a changing-of-the-guard atop Womens tennis is underway, much as it is in mens tennis.

For Pegula, the Guadalajara Victory was profound, her first title in a Masters 1000 event, which is one rung below a Grand Slam event in terms of ranking points, caliber of field and prestige. Winning a 1000 event, she explained afterwards, had been one of her goals for the season.

Gauff celebrated her career-high ranking with a social media post Monday, tweeting: special feeling waking up Top 5 in the world in singles and doubles. #grateful

Both have one more tournament remaining: The WTA Finals, which starts Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, after being relocated from China in response to ongoing concerns about the safety and independence of Peng Shuai.

Only the Worlds top eight players are invited to compete, so simply qualifying for the event is a significant achievement. Pegula and Gauff will not only be making their WTA Final debut in singles; they’ll also partner for the doubles event.

For nearly 20 years, men’s tennis has been dominated by the triumvirate of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whose 63 collective Grand Slam singles titles have scarcely allowed anyone else to make a mark of consequence.

With Nadal the Lone among them to compete at this year’s US Open, the 128-player men’s field was deemed wide open. It was won by a teenager the 19-year-old Alcaraz, whose grit conjured Memories of a young Nadal. Alcaraz has since risen to No. 1 in the world.

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But it was an American, 24-year-old Frances Tiafoe, who injected electricity into a Grand Slam event that had dawned as a requiem. Tiafoe became the first American man to reach the US Open semifinals since 2006, ousting Nadal in the Round of 16. By sheer force of his passion, and his forehand, Tiafoe also became must-watch TV.

Like Pegula and Gauff, Tiafoe is on pace to end 2022 with a career-high ranking. Hes currently No. 17. Taylor Fritz, at age 24, paces American men, at No. 10.

To be brutally honest, my ranking is cool and everything, but I just want to win the biggest titles in the world, Tiafoe told Reporters after clinching the No. 17 ranking at the Japan Open earlier this month.

Every sport produces beloved Champions who seem irreplaceable in their era. But sport renews itself.

Behind the Achievements of Pegula, Gauff, Fritz and Tiafoe, American tennis appears to be doing just that.