You've probably heard of Coco Gauff, who at 19 years old was the youngest American to make the third round in the women's singles draw.
Not far behind her, though, is 21-year-old Peyton Stearns, who, while maybe not as much of a household name, is also building buzz with some comprehensive play this fortnight, dropping just 17 games en route to recording her best-ever showing at a Grand Slam. She hasn't dropped a set in wins over Viktoriya Tomova, Clara Tauson and Katie Boulter, with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the British No. 1 on Saturday putting her through to the last 16.
Here are some fast facts about the fast-rising Stearns.
She's a Cincinnati kid.
The Queen City has had a tennis glow-up in recent years. In addition to Stearns, both two-time US Open women's doubles finalist Caty McNally and ATP world No. 45 J.J. Wolf hail from the land of the Bengals, Reds and Graeter's ice cream.
Stearns told reporters after her second round match that although she's a bit younger, they all "knew each other" growing up. She added that each family, interestingly, consists of brother-sister duos who all played the sport. Her own brother Preston, Wolf's sister Danielle and McNally's brother John all currently compete or once competed for Ohio State University.
No word yet on how Stearns feels about Skyline Chili, the controversial local delicacy that Cincinnatians will passionately defend with their lives.
Like Ben Shelton, she’s a 2022 NCAA champion.
While competing for the University of Texas—the same school where her mother was a competitive gymnast—Stearns captured the 2022 NCAA women's team and singles championship titles. Shortly thereafter, she decided to see whether her game would hold up on the pro circuit.
Turns out, it would more than hold up. Stearns came into the 2023 US Open ranked No. 59 in the world, over 200 spots higher than her ranking a year ago. The meteoric rise is thanks to an incredible string of results over the course of the entire season—including a final appearance at a WTA 250 in Colombia in April, which propelled Stearns into the world’s Top 100 for the first time. A month later, at a tournament in Rabat, Morocco, she upset 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez to reach the quarterfinals, where she pushed 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens to a third-set tiebreak.
Given the run-of-form, Stearns will probably remain a part of the tour for the foreseeable future. But she still plans to finish her degree through online courses.
"I've always wanted to become a dentist," she said after her second round match. "I don’t know why, I’ve just always wanted to. I know that’s really hard, so I’m gonna take my time!"
Like a true NCAA champion, she’s not afraid of the big stages.
At Roland Garros in May, Stearns faced No. 17 seed Jelena Ostapenko—a former champion of the event—in the second round. In front of an incredibly vocal French crowd, she went on to secure the biggest win of her career. That day, she said she fed off the support of the spectators in the stands, which she noted was comparable to what she’s experienced in Flushing Meadows so far.
"People show up for the Americans here, and I’m loving it," she said. "They're loud, they were loud during my match. I thrive off that kind of energy. And even if they aren’t loud for me and they’re loud for my opponent, it kinda creates a fire [in me] like, 'OK, prove them wrong.'"
She played her third-round opponent Katie Boulter before, and it was memorable.
In their last encounter—which occurred in the first round of a tournament earlier this year in Austin, Texas—the pair played three consecutive tiebreak sets over the course of three hours and 34 minutes, with Stearns ultimately emerging victorious.
"I think it was one of the longest matches at the beginning of the year," Stearns said. "So we'll see."
But Stearns rolled in the rematch. She opened up a 4-1 lead in the first set and never looked back, breaking Boulter three times in 1 hour and 37 minutes to book her spot in the second week.
