Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys are not just professional athletes, but history makers!
All three have advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2017 U.S. Open!
Now that is what we call #blackgirlmagic!
The Los Angeles Times reports that the three women (plus fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe) are competing starting today for the Tiffany-engraved trophy and the title in New York City's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
It's that #blackgoddessmagic
— Aretha Graves (@ArethaGraves3) September 5, 2017
Salute to @Madison_Keys, @SloaneStephens & @Venuseswilliams for reaching the #usopen qtrs; 1st time in history 3 black women have done so. pic.twitter.com/mR9ahWT1sC
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) September 5, 2017
Congrats to @Venuseswilliams
@SloaneStephens
@CoCoVandey
@Madison_Keys
@SamQuerrey
#quarterfinals
@usopen
#KEEPITGOING— Katrina Adams (@katadams68) September 5, 2017
While the second half of the legendary Williams sisters, Serena Williams, was busy delivering her first child last week, Venus was taking down rivals. Over the weekend, she got a quarterfinals spot by defeating Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.
“My sister motivates me a lot,” Venus Williams told the New York Post after the win. She added that although she felt a lot of pressure to bring home the hardware, “I think Billie Jean King put it best: pressure is a privilege."
Stephens, 24, earned her spot by defeating Julia Gorges of Germany. Keys, 22, secured her place by winning against Elina Svitolina from the Ukraine on Monday night.
Keys, who is the youngest of the three, impressively ranks No. 15 in the world.
“It’s just really exciting. I’m really happy that none of us are playing each other in the quarterfinals,” Keys told The LA Times. “If there’s some all-American match-ups in the rest of the tournament, I think that says really good things about women’s tennis.”
Not only is this the first time three black women have advanced to the U.S. Open Quarterfinals, but it is the first time since 2002 that four American women have made it to the top of the tournament.
This is one for the books!
For all the coverage and updates, visit the U.S. Open's website.