For more than a decade, the discussion over who will inherit the Williams sisters’ place at the forefront of American tennis has been a source of no small consternation to anyone in the US with even a passing interest in the sport. Television commentators and dedicated fans often broached the subject the same way conservationists talk about global warming, as a sort of event horizon beyond which nothing is certain besides a vague feeling of dread.
Sloane Stephens’ improbable run to last year’s US Open title, where she became the first American man or woman outside the Williams family to win a grand slam since 2003, did not put an end to the conversation which, with Venus and Serena in the winter of their careers, is as relevant as ever. But as the effervescent Floridian returns to Flushing Meadows to defend her crown, the tenor surrounding the inquiry is rosier than it has been in years.
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