US Open: The top Five Teenage moments in the hard-court Grand Slam

With that in mind, here are the top 5 teenage moments in the history of the US Open. 

Tracy Austin writes history

American tennis star Tracy Austin's career probably never hit the heights it deserved due to her early retirement, but she holds two unique records. She was the youngest International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee at age 29 and is still the youngest-ever US Open champion in the history of the sport. 

She accomplished the latter feat when she won the American Grand Slam title aged 16 years, eight months, and 28 days in 1979. Injuries and a severe accident cut her career short, but her accomplishments remain untouched even to this day. 

Pete Sampras wins maiden Slam

The youngest men's US Open champion, America's own Pete Sampras, was long seen as the yardstick for greatness before the arrival of the 'Big Three. His record of 14 Grand Slams remained untouched for quite a while, and it all started at Flushing Meadows in 1990. 

Then, aged 19 years and 28 days, Sampras announced himself to the world with a Grand Slam win that started a legendary run of greatness in tennis's biggest stages. Sampras, to date, remains the youngest men's champion in US Open history. 

Emma Raducanu shocks the world

2021 saw the meteoric rise of Emma Raducanu, and it was all thanks to her exploits in the US Open. Entering the Grand Slam ranked 150th in the world and having only made her Grand Slam debut in Wimbledon as a wildcard earlier that year, she would embark on a Slam run for the ages. 

She won 10 matches – three qualifiers and seven main draw matches – to claim her maiden Grand Slam title in some style. What's more, the 18-year-old did this without dropping a set. Her form has tailed off since, but nothing will take away from her fantastic run to her maiden Grand Slam title. 

Carlos Alcaraz rises to the top

2022 was the year of Carlos Alcaraz. The young Spaniard continued his rapid rise up the rankings even though a maiden Slam remained elusive until the end of the year. But when it came, it came in grand fashion – and showed that the 19-year-old is set to become a serious force in the sport. 

He played three five-setters before the final, where he needed to go through four sets to dispatch Casper Ruud. His potential had been evident for quite some time, but this was the required evidence that he was no longer just a promising prospect; he was already a star. His world number 1 ranking also proves that. 

Serena Williams announces herself to the world

In the 1990s, teenagers contesting the finals of Grand Slams was a far more common occurrence, especially in the women's division. Thus, when 18-year-old Martin Hingis – a three-time Grand Slam winner by that point – faced off against 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999, no one was that surprised. 

However, when Williams won the final 6-3. 7-6, few realized it would kickstart a run of dominance hardly seen in tennis in the Open Era. Serena would retire, having won a whopping 23 Grand Slams, and has solidified her status as an all-time great of the game. And it all started at the US Open.