Incredible Coco Gauff comeback gives Americans golden opportunity to accomplish a first in over two decades

Coco Gauff joins fellow Americans Jessica Pegula, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in U.S. Open semifinals

This has already been a banner year for the home country in 2026's final grand slam, with six American tennis pros reaching the quarterfinals, the most since 2002, the last time the U.S. won both the men's and women's singles titles.

That year, Pete Sampras claimed his fifth U.S. Open championship, defeating Andre Agassi in one of two all-American finals. Serena Williams won her second U.S. Open title, defeating sister Venus Williams.

According to DraftKings, women's No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka (+150) is favored to win her third consecutive U.S. Open singles trophy, while men's No. 1 Alexander Zverev (+115) is the favorite to win his first U.S. Open and second grand slam of 2026 (Roland-Garros), so it will still take plenty more work for the Americans to cap a storybook tournament.

Gauff showed why she could win her second U.S. Open and first since 2023 in rallying from two match points down to defeat Andreeva.

After a slow start, Gauff found a rhythm, winning an astounding 39-shot rally with a perfectly timed drop spot during a second-set tiebreak.

She won only six of her 22 receiving points (27 percent) in the first set but took 29 out of 64 (45.3 percent) over the final two, including one on a phenomenal recovery in the third set. After an approach, Andreeva hit a shot long, which Gauff sprinted to return with her back to the net, leading to an unforced Andreeva error, one of 14 in the set.

After the thrilling win, Gauff shared how the success of her fellow Americans rubbed off on her, saying she found motivation for her rally "thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back [from down two sets] yesterday."

"We all want to do well in front of this crowd," Gauff added.

In that regard, mission accomplished. The quartet of U.S. tennis stars has already made this a tournament worth remembering, and Gauff, 22, and Shelton, 23 — players who weren't even born the last time Americans swept the U.S. Open — in particular have shown how bright the future is for American tennis.

But the job isn't done. With two semifinalists in each draw (Shelton and Tiafoe meet in a semifinal, while Gauff and Pegula could face each other in the title round), the Americans have an opportunity that doesn't come around often. It'll be up to the four to take advantage.