Coco Gauff wants to become the first woman since Serena Williams a decade ago to defend her US Open title.

Gauff, seeded third, begins her title defense on Monday at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York, against 66th-ranked Varvara Gracheva of France.

If the seedings hold, Gauff would play in the semifinals against number 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Last year, Gauff beat Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final to become the youngest American woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since the first of Williams’ 23 titles at the 1999 US Open.

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Gauff also ended the longest drought of Grand Slam singles titles (men’s and women’s) in US history – since Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open.

This year, no American reached a men’s or women’s singles final at the Australian Open, French Open, or Wimbledon. In every previous year of the modern era, at least one American reached a Grand Slam singles final (and in all but one year, at least one American woman reached).

The US Open is the last chance to continue this series.

While Gauff failed to reach the quarterfinals in her last four tournaments, her compatriot Jessica Pegula made it to the finals of the two most important preparation events for the US Open in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier this month.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Poland’s Iga Swiatek is aiming for her sixth Grand Slam singles title. This would put her in a tie with top players such as Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis and put her just one title behind Venus Williams and Justine Henin.

US Open Women’s Singles 2024 draw