The Future of American Women's Tennis Without the Williams Sisters

Like the Czech Republic and Germany, Team USA is also experiencing a mini-renaissance in women's tennis.  Now that the Williams sisters are in the twilight of their careers - well Serena was sent packing in the first round while Venus in the second round - a new batch of American female players are slowly making their presence felt.

In fact, two American women reached the fourth round - and this is clay!!  They are Varvara Lepchenko (#63) and Sloane Stephens (#70).  Stephens has already lost to Stosur but Lepchenko still has a chance to go to the quarters as she plays Petra Kvitova (#4) today.

Another notable American is Christina McHale (ranked #36) who gave defending champion Li Na a scare in the third round, taking her to three sets before losing.  This girl definitely has the shots to hurt the top seeds and she now needs the mental toughness to get her to the next level.

Aside from Venus Williams, SIX other American women reached the second round of this year's French Open!! I was surprised to see this since normally, Americans fold easily on clay!  They are veterans Vania King, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin then the newcomers, Lauren Davies, Alexa Glatch and Irina Falconi.

So that's TEN women into the second round.  Not bad at all!  I'm excited to see how they do in Wimbledon!