The US Open launched the boys’ singles championship for the game’s best young players age 18 and under in 1973 and introduced the US Open girls’ singles championship the following year.
This year, for the first time since the boys’ and girls’ events began, they are not being played at the US Open as part of the overall plan to limit the number of individuals on site due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nevertheless, two players who first excelled at the US Open in their junior days have been making major headlines at the 2020 US Open.
Should Victoria Azarenka record a win Wednesday evening over Elise Mertens in their women’s singles quarterfinal, she will become the first girls’ singles champion to advance to a women’s singles semifinal since... well, since Azarenka reached back-to-back US Open women’s singles finals in 2012 and 2013.
Azarenka, the 2005 US Open girls’ singles champion, is one of two US Open girls’ titlists to appear in a US Open women’s singles championship match. Lindsay Davenport remains the only player to claim a US Open junior singles title (1992) and a US Open women’s singles crown (1998), while two other US Open junior champions—Zina Garrison (1981) and Jennifer Capriati (1989)—were also women’s singles semifinalists. Garrison reached the US Open semifinals once (1988), while Capriati was a four-time semifinalist (1991, 2001, 2003-04).
Borna Coric, the 2013 US Open boys’ singles champion, came close to pulling off his second major upset of the tournament in Tuesday afternoon’s match against Alexander Zverev, the No. 5 seed. Having already outlasted No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set third-round match, Coric pressured Zverev throughout their quarterfinal showdown.
The No. 27 seed won the opening set against Zverev but came up short in two tiebreaks and lost the match in four sets, thereby missing out on his chance to join eight other US Open boys’ champions who were also US Open men’s semifinalists.
Stefan Edberg (1983 boys’ champion/1991-92 men’s champion), Andy Roddick (2000 boys’ champion/2003 men’s champion) and Andy Murray (2003 boys’ champion/2012 men’s champion) all captured the US Open boys’ singles championship prior to claiming the men’s singles title. Another five junior champions advanced as far as the men’s semifinals: Pat Cash (1982 boys’ champion/1984 men’s semifinalist), Sjeng Schalken (1994 boys’ champion/2002 men’s semifinalist), David Nalbandian (1998 boys’ champion/2000 men’s semifinalist), Richard Gasquet (2002 boys’ champion/2013 men’s semifinalist) and one of last year’s men’s semifinalists, Grigor Dimitrov (2008 boys’ champion).
At the 2020 US Open, a total of 14 players—five women and nine men—began play in the singles main draws having previously raised a US Open junior singles championship trophy.
US Open Girls’ Singles Champions in 2020 Main Draw
Amanda Anisimova (USA), 2017
Marie Bouzkova (CZE), 2014
Heather Watson (GBR), 2009
Victoria Azarenka (BLR), 2005
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL), 2003
US Open Boys’ Singles Champions in 2020 Main Draw
Thiago Seyboth Wild (BRA), 2018
Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN), 2016
Taylor Fritz (USA), 2015
Borna Coric (CRO), 2013
Jack Sock (USA), 2010
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), 2008
Ricardas Berankis (LTU), 2007
Andy Murray (GBR), 2004
Richard Gasquet (FRA), 2002
Click here to see the full list of boys' and girls' champions in US Open history.
