US Open 2024 is a refreshing mix of diversity and talent

This 12 months’s US Open has featured major Black American tennis stars to date, including Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys and Ben Shelton, but there are other players from the African diaspora representing other countries who seem poised to make an impact and proceed to diversify the sport of tennis.

The Frenchman and two women, one from Italy and one from Japan, showed impressive play of their first-round matches and are capable of going far within the tournament.

Arthur Fils isn’t yet a household name, however the 20-year-old from France has the abilities and personality to turn into one. Already ranked twenty fourth on the earth, Fils is coming off a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon in July, his best Grand Slam performance. His stocky construct, strength and speed are reminiscent of former French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Fils has a flair for the dramatic that recalls longtime French star Gael Monfils.

Fils says he enjoys playing on the US Open and the fans actually feel the identical way.

“I felt almost at home playing today,” Fils said after his first-round victory over American student Tien. “I played against an American guy, but the crowd was good to me and cheered me on, so I like playing in the US Open.”

Fils will play unseeded Gabriel Diallo, a Canadian of Guinean and Ukrainian descent, within the second round on Thursday. Fils likes the progress he has revamped the past 12 months and attributes much of his growth to the mental side of his game.

“I think I’m playing great and I’m improving my game, I’m getting better and better,” he said. “I didn’t get mad today. I stayed calm, you know? I could have (broken) a few rackets, but I didn’t. I stayed calm and just controlled myself, and I think that helped me a lot today and overall.”

Italian Jasmine Paolini, the daughter of a Ghanaian-Polish mother and an Italian father, has had quite the 12 months in 2024. The 28-year-old had never reached the third round of a Grand Slam until this 12 months, when she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and then reached the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon. Paolini is the primary woman to achieve the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon in the identical 12 months since Serena Williams achieved the feat in 2016.

The 6-foot-4, feisty and perpetually discouraged Paolini and her newfound top-five game (she is currently ranked fifth on the earth) must be a crowd favorite on the US Open.

“It’s nice to play in front of a crowd tonight,” she said after her first-round three-set victory over 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. Fifth-seeded Paolini advanced to the third round after unseeded Karolina Pliskova He retired because of an ankle injury just three points of their second-round match on Thursday. “It’s something great that I’m attempting to enjoy.

“I know I’m playing well, I’m playing well, but every tournament is different. I knew it was a really tough first round, so I tried to stay focused, stay in the present and try to play a good match.”

Although the Americans have recognized Naomi Osaka because the heir to the throne and she herself grew up within the United States, from New York to Florida to California, Osaka was born in Japan and has represented that country for the reason that starting of her tennis profession.

Osaka, of course, is already a household name and a hard-court specialist, in the event you will. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, has won two US Open titles and two Australian Open titles.

Osaka is also known for helping to lift the problem of mental health within the sports world. After her second Australian Open in 2021, Osaka withdrew from the French Open, citing mental health issues after being fined $15,000 for missing a mandatory news conference. Athletes like gymnast Simone Biles have since shed more light on the problem of mental health.

In 2023, ahead of the Australian Open, Osaka took one other break from tennis, this time announcing that she was expecting her first child with hip-hop artist Cordae.

She’s once more helping to pave the best way for athletes. She left tennis at the height of her profession and is now attempting to reclaim her previously achieved status. The 2024 US Open may very well be the precise time to accomplish that.

“I feel like this court is my home for me, it gives me a lot more confidence,” Osaka said after a surprisingly easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tenth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko. “It’s like he’s walking in knowing that I probably have the most wins in the game, maybe.”

Osaka’s first-round win over Ostapenko was arguably her best since returning to the game after giving birth to her daughter. She has competed in all 4 Grand Slams this 12 months, but lost in the primary round of the Australian Open and lost within the second rounds of the French Open and Wimbledon. But it was her performance within the loss to No. 1-ranked Iga Świątek on the French Open that made the tennis world take notice that Osaka was on the verge of regaining her former form. She lost a three-set thriller by which she let a match point slip away from her.

“I’m really happy that I played in all the tournaments this year. Even though the results weren’t the best, I feel like I was able to learn from each of those matches,” she said.

Based on her first-round match and her previous experience on the US Open, Osaka may very well be a serious threat to fight for the title this 12 months, similar to within the old days. Osaka will face unseeded Karolina Muchova within the second round.

“To win two (champions) here means a lot,” she said. “I’ve struggled with my confidence all year, and now it forces me to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you did really well here, there’s no reason you can’t do well again.’”

These three international players, together with a strong group of black players representing the United States, bring a refreshing mix of diversity, personality and talent to this 12 months’s US Open.