Country Club Current: Dear American men’s tennis, it’s time for a new major champ

There’s a new No. 1 American in men’s tennis.

Greenville, N.C., native Tommy Paul earned his new ranking this week after winning the Cinch Championships in London on Sunday, besting unseeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets. World No. 13 Taylor Fritz had held the title of top American since he surpassed John Isner back in 2019, the week after Isner fell in the round of 16 at that year’s Miami Open.

Before Paul faced Musetti in the final at Cinch, however, he battled fellow American and rising star Sebastian Korda in the semifinals, ultimately coming out on top 6-4, 7-6 (2). Thanks to his showing in London and a runner-up finish at the Libéma Open in the Netherlands, Korda also climbed up the ATP rankings this week, now sitting at No. 20.

Korda had already faced Paul this year, when Korda won in two sets in the Libéma quarterfinals a couple of weeks ago. Korda then followed it up with a victory over then-No. 23 Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinals, and although Korda fell to then-No. 9 Alex de Minaur in the championship match, both he and Paul have shown potential in the first few weeks of the grass season.

The Americans now claim four spots in the top-20 of the ATP rankings, with Paul, Fritz, and up-and-comer Ben Shelton at No. 12, 13 and 14, respectively, with Korda rounding it out at No. 20. Considering how good European youngsters like No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz are, the presence of that many top-ranked Americans seems promising.

But there’s a glaring fact that most American tennis fans widely acknowledge: an American man has not won a grand slam since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.

At the time, Roddick’s win in New York City made fans think that there would be yet another era of competitive Americans in men’s tennis, but Roddick never won another grand slam despite his five finals appearances. The big-serving Isner was another American who threatened to contend, but the closest he came was the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2018. He eventually flamed out and retired in 2023 at 38 years old.

However, the last few years have somewhat re-sparked America’s hope for a consistent grand slam contender of its own. The four highest-ranked Americans are the country’s strongest chance at the moment, but American and world No. 30 Frances Tiafoe has been known to get hot at the right time, especially at slams. Tiafoe is strongest on hard courts, proven by his several quarterfinal berths at the U.S. and Australian Opens over the years. His track record at Wimbledon doesn’t suggest he has a great chance this year, but he’ll be a fan favorite when the tour returns to U.S. soil in August.

The interesting and somewhat strange situation with American men’s tennis is that, despite the lack of grand slam titles, good players are out there; they’re competitive across the three surfaces and at tournaments both at home and abroad. They’ve actually won a fair amount of ATP tournaments throughout the past few seasons, most notably when Fritz won Indian Wells in 2022. But in slams, when all the marbles are at stake, an American has yet to push through since Roddick.

On the other hand, American women’s tennis hasn’t had the issues that the men have. 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams, alongside her sister, Venus, was dominant throughout her career, while her male counterparts continued to struggle. Even now, Coco Gauff will defend her U.S. Open title in a couple of months, and usually performs well on hard and clay courts. Grass has been a more difficult surface for her, but she’ll head into Wimbledon with momentum, having passed Aryna Sabalenka this week to become the world No. 2. Although, to compete for titles, Gauff will likely have to get through both Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, who topped the WTA rankings for the 109th consecutive week and often looks unbeatable.

Gauff isn’t the only American woman who will compete for trophies this year. No. 5 Jessica Pegula didn’t play at the French Open due to injury and fell in the second round of the Australian Open, but just beat No. 24 Anna Kalinskaya in the finals of the Ladies Open in Berlin. No. 11 Danielle Collins has also been competitive this year, while No. 19 Emma Navarro won her first career title earlier this season at Hobart International and had a strong showing at Roland-Garros, where she made the round of 16.

Given that four American tennis players from both tours rank inside the top 20, it’s a little unsettling that an American man hasn’t won a slam in over 20 years. But those statistics paired together prove a worrying—yet often exciting—fact about tennis: it’s a sport marked by dominance.

Face the facts: men’s tennis was dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and (still) Novak Djokovic year after year through the 21st century. When slams came around, they were instant favorites, no matter the location and surface. Every once in a while a challenger would shock the tennis world—like Roddick did in 2003—but they’d never accomplish enough to even be considered a part of the legendary group.

Players like Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier set expectations high for the future of American men’s tennis. But since those three stepped down, nobody has climbed up to take their place. No American male made it past the round of 16 at this year’s French Open, and with Wimbledon starting early next week, the chances of an American making a deep run remain low.

The next best opportunity for an American to make a major impression is when the tour moves from the clay and grass courts of Europe to North America’s hard courts, a typically friendly surface for American-born players. Both Paul and Fritz are the top two in the country, and while there’s more time for Shelton and Korda to reach their peaks, the two show even more promise given how quickly they’ve risen in the rankings since turning pro.

This year’s U.S. Open will be difficult for any American to win, but anything can happen with the home-crowd advantage. You never know who could become the next Roddick.

And after that, they’ll just need to find a way to consistently compete with the European giants who aren’t going away any time soon.