US Open Profile: CoCo Vandeweghe

This week, Baseline will highlight a variety of Americans to watch for during the US Open. Qualifying action starts on August 22, with the main draw beginning on August 28.

Age: 25

Rank: No. 24

Career-Best US Open Performance: Second round, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015

2017 High: Nearly everything went right for Vandeweghe in Australia to start off the year. At the Hopman Cup, she and partner Jack Sock reached the final of the international team event. And at the Australian Open, Vandeweghe reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, which included a straight-sets dismissal of world No. 1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber.

She followed that up with a win against No. 7 seed Garbine Muguruza, before dropping her semifinal match against Venus Williams, one of her tennis idols.

2017 Low: Vandeweghe was on many a shortlist of Wimbledon contenders this year. With her two career titles coming on grass and a new coach—1987 men’s champ Pat Cash—in her corner, the American was expected to make significant inroads on a draw that had no clear favorite. She advanced to the quarterfinals, with a win against Caroline Wozniacki along the way—but fell in that round to unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova, who also beat her in the first round of this year’s French Open.

Best Social Media Moment: When Vandeweghe and her Fed Cup teammates get together, watch out. The Tennis Watch crew continued their homage to old TV shows with this riff on The Brady Bunch before their semifinal tie. Vandeweghe won all three of her rubbers in the tie against the Czech Republic to lead the U.S. to the final.

US Open Outlook: As the past two major tournaments have shown, Grand Slams are up for grabs right now. And once again, Vandeweghe will enter the tournament as a title contender. She reached the final at the Stanford tournament this year for the second time in her career, and has the firepower to defeat nearly anyone on hard courts. Surprisingly, she’s never advanced past the second round in New York, but if she’s able to handle the external expectations this year, a deep run is within the realm of possibility.

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