By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Australian Open champion Madison Keys believes American women are well positioned to end a 24-year title drought at Indian Wells when the tournament’s main draw starts on Wednesday in the California desert.
Three American women are in the world’s top five – number three Coco Gauff, fourth-ranked Jessica Pegula and number five Keys, who triumphed at Melbourne Park in January for her first Grand Slam title, respectively.
“I think it’s probably been a little while since there have been so many American women doing as well as they are,” Keys told reporters on Tuesday.
“I’m really excited. I think not only are there the names that everyone obviously knows and are a little bit more established, but there’s also a ton of up-and-comers that are doing really, really well.
“I would not be surprised if you saw some really great results from the U.S. women.”
No American woman has lifted the trophy in Indian Wells since Serena Williams in 2001.
New Yorker Emma Navarro comes into the WTA 1000 tournament with a ton of momentum after winning the Merida Open in Mexico, where she crushed Emiliana Arango 6-0 6-0 in the final to claim her first 500-level tournament crown.
Amanda Anisimova, who took a break from the sport to prioritise her mental health in 2023 and is now playing some of the best tennis of her life, won February’s Qatar Open to crack the top 20 for the first time.
The Americans will all look to stop Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the defending champion who is looking to become the first woman to triumph here three times, and big-serving world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Keys, a 30-year-old tour veteran who turned professional on her 14th birthday, said the strong sense of camaraderie among the U.S. women players is nothing new.
“It’s just a really great group of women that I’ve grown up with that have continued to encourage and push and support each other,” she said.
“When we see each other do well, we’re not only extremely excited for them, but we’re all being cheerleaders for each other.
“I think it just helps push all of us to continue to have some really good success.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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