The American depth US Open storyline has quietly become one of the tournament’s defining threads, and it’s showing up in a way that goes well beyond one or two headline names. By the third round, it wasn’t just Coco Gauff or Ben Shelton carrying the flag — it was a genuine wave, across both draws, of American players finding form at the same time.
Friday Night Set the Tone
The clearest signal came Friday, when Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe all delivered significant wins on the same day, adding real momentum to a tournament that was already leaning into the possibility of a deep American run. Shelton has looked entirely comfortable under the brightest lights so far, continuing to build on the power-and-athleticism combination that’s made him a legitimate dark-horse threat all summer.
Paul’s win was the standout of the trio for pure drama. He avenged last year’s US Open loss to Alexander Bublik in a five-set thriller, dropping the first set before Bublik found another gear to take the next two. Paul refused to fold, playing flawlessly through the final two sets while Bublik suffered a significant dip in focus at exactly the wrong moment. It’s the kind of resilience-under-pressure win that tends to matter more as a tournament goes deep than the scoreline alone suggests.
Tiafoe added his own statement result, showing the resolve and composure needed to see off a dangerous opponent — part of a pattern this week where American men have consistently found a way through tight moments rather than folding against tougher competition. It’s a similar quality to what we saw fuel Carlos Alcaraz’s own comeback run this fortnight — composure holding up even when the level isn’t at its peak.
The Women’s Side Is Carrying Its Own Weight in the American Depth US Open Picture
American depth at the US Open isn’t just a men’s story this year. Jessica Pegula narrowly escaped a three-set battle against Leylah Fernandez to reach the Round of 16 for the fifth straight year — a genuinely impressive streak of consistency at her home Slam. She struggled early, committing 11 unforced errors and landing only 41 percent of first serves in the opening set, before finding her rhythm and taking the next two sets 6-4, 6-3 behind her trademark aggressive baseline game.
Emma Navarro added a notable scalp of her own, upsetting No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 — the kind of result that quietly extends the American footprint deeper into the draw, per CBS Sports’ live tournament tracker. Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka have both advanced as well, giving the American women a real presence spread across multiple sections of the draw rather than concentrated in one or two seeds.
The Complication: Anisimova’s Early Exit
No storyline about depth is complete without acknowledging where it cracked. Amanda Anisimova’s tournament ended earlier than expected with a 6-2, 7-5 third-round loss to Anastasia Potapova — a reminder that “depth” doesn’t mean invulnerability, and that even in a strong collective showing, individual results can still surprise. It’s a genuine blow to the overall American tally, even as the broader picture across both draws remains unusually strong.
Why This Matters Beyond This Fortnight
A deep American showing at the US Open carries weight beyond the trophy count. It’s the one major where American players consistently draw the loudest home-crowd energy, and a genuine multi-player push — rather than a single star carrying the flag alone — tends to translate into sustained interest well past the tournament itself. With Alcaraz still the favorite and Sabalenka chasing her own piece of history, the American depth US Open storyline adds a real subplot to watch: how many of Shelton, Paul, Tiafoe, Pegula, and Navarro can still be standing as the draw tightens into the second week.
Saturday’s slate keeps the pressure on, with several more American names in action across both stadiums. If the pattern from Thursday and Friday holds, this US Open might be remembered as much for the sheer number of Americans still playing deep into the second week as for whoever ultimately lifts the trophies.
