Could it only have been two years ago that Naomi Osaka won the 2018 U.S. Open and dissolved in tears, overwhelmed, as she was, by the chaos and the occasion? Saturday, two years older but immeasurably better situated to deal with the fame she has earned, Osaka beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3,-6-3 to win the 2020 women’s title. It was a strange match to culminate this most unusual tournament. But, ultimately, the younger and better player won. And in so doing, she cemented herself as the WTA’s future.
While men’s tennis savors the Big Three—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—but wonders what the hell the future holds and who the hell will fill that canyonesque void when they retire, the WTA has no such issue.