US Open Tennis 2023: Top Storylines to Watch in Women's Semifinals

Half of the women's singles semifinalists at the 2023 US Open are Americans.

Coco Gauff and Madison Keys are one win each away from facing each other in an all-American final on Saturday.

Karolina Muchova and Aryna Sabalenka, two players who have multiple Grand Slam semifinal appearances in the last three years, will oppose the pair of American women on Thursday.

Gauff takes on Muchova for the second time in her career. The sixth-seeded American won the only head-to-head battle against the No. 10 seed.

Keys and Sabalenka will face off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second consecutive major tournament.

Sabalenka may be viewed by some as the favorite to win the event, but she may have to beat two Americans to do so.

Gauff entered New York as the most recognizable American woman in contention for the title.

The 19-year-old took the tennis world by storm with her run to the quarterfinals at the 2021 French Open. She is now a regular at the back end of Grand Slams.

Gauff is participating in her second-ever Grand Slam semifinal. She reached the final at Wimbledon last year.

The No. 6 seed is looking to become the first American winner at the US Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017 and the first American woman to win a major since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open.

She comes into Thursday with a 1-0 career record against Muchova. Gauff defeated her Czech foe in straight sets in Cincinnati in a build-up tournament to the US Open.

Muchova is in her third Grand Slam semifinal. She lost in her first final four appearance at the 2021 Australian Open and reached the final of the 2023 French Open.

Muchova has had more overall success outside of hard courts. Her Australian Open semifinal appearance two years ago was her only advancement past the fourth round at a hard-court major prior to the 2023 US Open.

Gauff will be expected to win with the home crowd behind her, but Muchova should test her given her semifinal experience.

The marquee semifinal showdown between Sabalenka and Keys features a ton of Grand Slam experience.

Sabalenka qualified for her fourth Grand Slam semifinal of the season with her win on Wednesday afternoon.

The No. 2 seed has been to this stage of the US Open three years in a row. She is 0-2 in US Open semifinals and 1-5 overall in Grand Slam semifinals.

Sabalenka will play Thursday's semifinal as the No. 1 ranked player in the world for the first time. She earned that earlier in the tournament when top seed Iga Swiatek was eliminated in the fourth round.

Keys is no stranger to the US Open semifinals either. She was the runner-up in 2017 and lost in the final four in 2018.

Keys is in the middle of a career resurgence. She made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Sabalenka.

The 28-year-old American had two Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances between the start of the 2019 season and the beginning of this year's Wimbledon.

Sabalenka should be the favorite based on her ranking, but she has stumbled at this stage many times before. Keys, like Gauff, will have the New York crowd behind her and that may help in a close match.