Generational Rivalry: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner evenly split four majors in back-to-back seasons

There are 10 mothers in the main draw at the US Open this year—so many that two of them will even play each other in the first round, and there could be a few all-mom third-round clashes, too.

Here’s a rundown of the group:

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
At No. 18, the Belarusian is the No. 1 mom on the WTA rankings right now. A two-time Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013 and a former world No. 1, she had her son Leo in 2016 and returned to the tour in 2017, her best result at a major since then being reaching the final of the 2020 US Open, finishing runner-up to Naomi Osaka. She’s the most recent mom to reach a major final.

Elina Svitolina (UKR)
The Ukrainian had her daughter Skai last October, returned to the tour in April of this year and has had dynamite performances in her first two majors back, reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the semifinals of Wimbledon. A former world No. 3, she’s already back up to No. 26 on the WTA rankings—which makes her the second-highest-ranked mom at the moment, after Azarenka.

Tatjana Maria (GER)
One of the few two-time moms on the tour at the moment, No. 47-ranked Maria has two daughters—Charlotte, who was born in 2013, and Cecilia, born in 2021. She’s perhaps best known for reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last year as a 34-year-old two-time mom. She’s also won all three of her career WTA titles since becoming a mom (one after Charlotte, two more after Cecilia).

At the US Open this year, Wozniacki is playing her first major since the 2020 Australian Open.

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Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
And then, the newest two-time mom-on-tour. Wozniacki, a Grand Slam champion (2018 Australian Open) and a former world No. 1, retired from professional tennis after the 2020 Australian Open, had two kids—a daughter, Olivia, in 2021, and a son, James, in 2022—and returned to the tour three weeks ago. She’s a two-time US Open finalist in 2009 and 2014… can she make a run in 2023?

Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)
Azarenka, Svitolina and Maria aren’t the only moms ranked in the Top 100 at the moment. There’s also the No. 85-ranked Wickmayer, best known for reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2009 US Open—where she actually fell to Wozniacki in a battle of 19-year-olds. The Belgian gave birth to her daughter Luana in 2021, returned to the tour in 2022, and then the Top 100 this year.

Taylor Townsend (USA)
Townsend has been on the verge of breaking back into the Top 100 this year for the first time since becoming a mother, going as high as No. 103 in July. But she’s found a whole new level of success in doubles this year, breaking the Top 30, Top 20 and the Top 10 for the first time. The American, who had her son Adyn in 2021, is currently at a career-high of No. 5 on the WTA doubles rankings.

Azarenka is currently the No. 1-ranked mom on tour. She just reached the ninth Grand Slam semifinal of her career at the Australian Open this year.

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Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Since having her daughter Evelina in 2016, Zvonareva—a two-time Grand Slam finalist and former world No. 2—has been back in the Top 100, going as high as No. 76 in 2019. But like Townsend, she’s found particular success in doubles over the last few years, including capturing the third Grand Slam doubles title of her career at the US Open in 2020 alongside Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

Zvonareva will face Wickmayer in the aforementioned all-mom first-round clash on Tuesday.

Barbora Strycova (CZE)
Before becoming a mom to son Vincent in 2021, Strycova had reached the Top 20 in singles and No. 1 in doubles, her biggest triumph coming in doubles at Wimbledon in 2019 alongside Hsieh Su-Wei. Since returning to action earlier this year, the Czech-Taiwanese pair repeated the feat, going all the way to their second Grand Slam doubles title together at the All England Club last month.

Patricia Maria Tig (ROU)
Before going on maternity leave, Tig’s career-high ranking was No. 83. After having daughter Sofia in 2018 she returned to the tour and went as high as No. 56, even picking up her first WTA title as a mom at the clay-court event in Istanbul in 2020, defeating Eugenie Bouchard in the final.

Margarita Betova (RUS)
Betova (formerly Gasparyan) recently returned to the tour after having her son, Daniil, in 2021. One of the rare players on the women’s tour with a one-handed backhand, the Russian has been ranked as high as No. 41 and her best major showing was a fourth-round run at the 2016 Australian Open.

At Wimbledon this year, Svitolina became the first mom to defeat a reigning No. 1 at a major since Serena Williams at the 2019 Australian Open.

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