American players break new record at WTA Toronto

Five players representing the United States have reached the quarter-finals in Toronto – a record at 1000-level tournaments

Jessica Pegula, Montreal 2023 – © Zuma / panoramic

Adrien Guyot

August 10, 2024

After the Paris Olympic Games, many players have returned to the WTA Tour to join start of the North American tour which provides the run-up to the final Grand Slam of the season in New York.

Before meeting again to play in Cincinnati next week, most of the players are currently in Toronto, the first of two 1000-level tournaments prior to the US Open.

In the absence of Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, others have an opportunity to do well during the National Bank Open, currently taking place in Toronto on the WTA side, while the ATP equivalent gets underway in Montreal.

One country has particularly stood out since the start of the tournament, and that is the United States. With the quarter-finals positions now set, the USA’s dominance is clear to see.

5 – In 2000s only in Stanford 2001 (Shaughnessy, Venus Williams, Rubin, Seles, Osterloh and Davenport) there were more players competing for the USA in the quarter-finals of a WTA event than in Toronto 2024 (five). Team.#NBO24 | @NBO24 @WTA @WTA_insider
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 10, 2024

FIVE AMERICANS IN THE QUARTER-FINALS IN TORONTO

Indeed, of the last eight players still in the running, five of them are Americans – defending champion Jessica Pegula, Peyton Stearns, Amanda Anisimova, Emma Navarro and Taylor Townsend. Given that top-seeded Coco Gauff was eliminated in the round of 16 by Diana Shnaider, this is testament to the strength in depth that United States currently enjoys on the WTA Tour.

Of these five qualified players, two Americans are even guaranteed to reach the last four as Pegula will face Stearns while Navarro will face compatriot Townsend.

Since the introduction of the new Masters 1000 format in 2009, the United States had never had so many players in the quarter-finals of an event of this tournament category. It should be noted that in 2001, six American players managed to qualify for this stage of the competition at the same WTA tournament: it was at Stanford in 2001. At the time, Venus Williams, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Lilia Osterloh, Chanda Rubin and Meghann Shaughnessy achieved this feat.

While the American nation currently has 14 players in the top 100 of the WTA rankings, one of them has the opportunity to reach the final at the end of this week and write one of the most beautiful pages of their career by winning a 1000-level tournament.