Peyton Stearns has stormed into the fourth round of the US Open for her best ever Grand Slam performance. It's been a wild ride for the 21-year-old Cincinnati native since turning pro last year.
In May 2022, Stearns was winning the team and individual NCAA championship while wrapping up her sophomore year at the University of Texas. Now she’s set to face Marketa Vondrousova for a place in the quarterfinals in New York.
In March, Stearns, along with Michigan’s Andrew Fenty, was named a Universal Tennis Hurd Award winner. Thanks to a grant made possible by the Hurd family, Stearns received $100,000 to help her make the transition from college tennis to pursuing her competitive dreams. (You can watch her journey from college to pro in a three-part YouTube series here).
A few weeks later in April, Stearns reached her first WTA final in Bogota, propelling her WTA ranking inside of the Top 100 for the first time. She hasn't looked back.
At Roland Garros, she enjoyed a run to the third round with a win over 2017 champoin Jelena Ostapenko. But it’s hard courts on U.S. soil that seam to suit her best. In New York this week, she has yet to lose a set in wins over Viiktoriya Tomova, Clara Tauson, and Katie Boulter.
"I don't think I've wrapped my mind around the fact where I am right now because I'm honestly trying not to think about it too much," Stearns told the press. "I think that's been the biggest key to the success this week, is not letting all of this get to my head.”
According to Universal Tennis INSIGHTS, Stearns' quarterfinal opponent Vondrousova is favored to reach the quarterfinals at 81% odds. Earlier this summer, Vondrousova defeated Stearns in the first round in London on her way to winning the Wimbledon title.
You can count on Stearns to swing big and free when she takes the court on Monday. Still so young and just over a year into her pro career, Stearns is doing a great job of balancing seriousness and fun, even getting out on the pickleball court while in Cleveland just prior to the US Open.
Stearns is not the only NCAA champion going deep at the US Open. Ben Shelton, also the NCAA champion in 2022, is through to the fourth round. He competed on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour, reaching the final of a $25K PTT in 2021. The UTR Pro Tennis Tour, or PTT, is a developmental tour for aspiring pros like Shelton looking to get competitive match play and guaranteed prize money.