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Key Points Four Americans qualify for 2025 WTA Finals singles, most since 2002. Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, and Jessica Pegula seen as strong contenders. Players praise each other’s achievements and highlight American women’s tennis resurgence. Half of the 2025 WTA Finals singles field is American. That sentence hasn’t been true since 2002, when Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and Chanda Rubin all qualified for the year-end championships. Twenty-three years later, the U.S. is back in that echelon — this time with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova arriving in Riyadh not just as participants but as serious contenders. They’re joined by doubles standouts Taylor Townsend and Asia Muhammad, rounding out six American women across both draws, the strongest U.S. showing the Finals have seen in more than two decades. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram “It’s really cool to be able to qualify for this tournament in general, but also to do it alongside three incredible women from the same country as me is really great,” Gauff told Parade exclusively on Friday, October 31. “I’m excited to compete against them and alongside them.” 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 For Gauff, 21, and already a Grand Slam champion twice over, the moment feels bigger than tennis. A year after capturing the 2024 WTA Finals title, she returns to Riyadh with a chance to do what only Serena has done this century — defend it. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram “Obviously Serena Williams,” Gauff said when asked who paved the way for her. “She was one of my inspirations for why I wanted to play this sport.” The reigning champ went on to name Chrissie Evert and Lindsay Davenport as part of that long American legacy, but for her, Serena set the standard. As for Keys, she’s as grounded as they come — calm on court, steady off it, and clearly proud of the company she keeps. “Amanda’s really impressed me this year,” she said. “I think it’s kind of self-explanatory.” And it is. Anisimova, 24, returned to the tour this season after stepping away in 2023 and climbed back into the Top 5. She captured her first WTA 1000 title in Doha, added another in Beijing, and reached the finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Along the way, she took out Naomi Osaka in New York and later toppled Iga Świątek in the US Open quarterfinals. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram But Keys is no spectator in this surge of American dominance. At 30, she’s having the best season of her career — winning her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and returning to the WTA Finals for the first time since 2016. Her win over world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne delivered the payoff fans had been waiting for. When asked to describe American women’s tennis right now, she said two words: “Crushing it.” Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram While Keys is riding a breakthrough, Pegula is proof that staying power counts just as much. “I think we all have such different stories… we’ve all gotten here in totally different ways and through different challenges,” she told Parade. This season, Pegula, 31, won titles in Austin and Charleston, reached the Wuhan final, and clinched her spot in Riyadh for the fourth straight year. Her 50-win season and Top-5 finish helped make her the fourth American to qualify, a reflection of the consistency that’s kept her among the tour’s best for half a decade. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram 💪 SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week 💪
