This year made history in the world of tennis as it was the first year in almost two decades an American made it to the finals of the US Open, sparking more interest than ever in the sport.
Andy Roddick was the most recent American male to make an appearance in the finals of a US open. He appeared in the finals in 2006, where he unfortunately lost to Roger Federer in four sets.
Roddick is also the most recent American to win a US open, beating Juan Carlos Ferrero swiftly in three sets in 2003.
The United States had a dominant run for over 30 years preceding Andy Roddick’s 2005 appearance. The US had representation in almost every men’s singles finals from the 1970s to 2006. The largest gap in American appearances during the finals was only three years, but this year, the US was on an 18 year gap in finals appearances.
The US Open is not the only event where the US has been struggling in recent years. Wimbledon has not seen US representation in the finals since 2009 in any of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Taylor Fritz broke the 15 year long curse by appearing in the 2024 men’s singles finals. He lost to Italian Jannik Sinner, giving Sinner his first US open championship title, and second Grand Slam title.
This year was a great year for Fritz, with him not only performing well at the US Open, but also performing excellently at the other three Grand Slams of the season.
The US returning to its competitive status at the highest level of tennis generated excitement for the sport. “I was rooting for the Americans in the tournament and was very excited when Fritz made it to the finals,” said tennis fan Prasanna Senthil Kumar.
Existing fans of the sport aren’t the only ones excited about Fritz’s performance. Many new tennis fans were created. “Before this year’s US open, I never really cared about tennis,” said senior Muhammad Baig. “Fritz’s performance at the US open made me enjoy tennis.”
Many of the new fans of the sport plan on continuing to follow the sport. “I can’t wait to see how Fritz performs in future years,” said Baig.
While tennis is not a sport where you compete as a team for your country, many fans are excited that American tennis players are performing at the highest level of tennis again.
