A year after Coco Gauff's history-making US Open singles triumph in 2023, compatriot Taylor Fritz barnstormed to the men's final in New York City – the first American man to do so since Andre Agassi, back in 2006.
The top-10 stalwarts have headlined a new era for Team USA in global tennis, with some 10 US players currently inside the Top 25 across the men's and women's rankings.
Gauff and Fritz link up to lead USA at the 2025 United Cup, with Gauff making her debut at the event in its third staging.
She’ll enter the tournament with confidence soaring after capturing the WTA Finals crown – and the biggest champion’s cheque in tennis history – on Sunday for the second-biggest title of her career. Fritz is currently chasing glory at the ATP Finals in Turin.
They're set to be joined on Team USA by Australian Open 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins, doubles star Desirae Krawczyk and veteran Denis Kudla, as well as doubles speciallist Robert Galloway, with the US looking to recapture the Cup from their 2023 triumph.
Game, set, stardom
Zoom out of the tennis court and Gauff and Fritz are seemingly everywhere, too.
She's on billboards splashed across Times Square in Midtown Manhattan for international ad campaigns, while he's walking fashion shows in Milan.
Both are TikTok savants, with Gauff always game to try the latest dance trend for her over 730,000 followers, while Fritz is a constant character featured on the account of his much-followed partner, Morgan Riddle.
They're serving a new age of American tennis, but the vastly different characters have a similar common goal – they not only want to be among the best, but be the very best.
"The US Open final? I want to win it; it's a really big moment," Fritz said after his loss in September to Jannik Sinner, now a two-time major champion. "I'm gonna keep working and hopefully I'll get it done next time."
Moments after Gauff won her maiden major a year prior, the then-teen was already plotting for the future: "I still am hungry for more," she told reporters.
Doubles deception
Entering a 2025 season in which they'll both be in the conversation for major titles on the singles court, the duo has experience on the mixed doubles court, too, having made the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics on the clay of Roland Garros in late July.
This contributes to the deceptive depth for this iteration of Team USA: both Gauff and Fritz are wholly comfortable on the doubles court, with each of Collins, Kudla, Krawczyk and Galloway able to successfully pair up with a potential partner.
Gauff claimed her first major in doubles alongside Katerina Siniakova at the French Open in June, while Fritz's Olympic run included men's doubles bronze alongside longtime close friend Tommy Paul.
Gauff, who has also captured three WTA 1000 doubles titles with compatriot Jessica Pegula, is a former doubles world No.1.
'Relax and the good things will happen'
Gauff and Fritz share a common characteristic behind the scenes, too: they're sponges.
Both are always working to be better, and their doubles experience – and achievements – showcase that.
"I definitely didn't think it would happen to me, to be frank," a shellshocked Gauff said after her Roland Garros win earlier this year. "I lost the first two [major] finals [and] thought, 'Well, okay, I reached that point, maybe I should focus on singles.'
"I think it's funny how life teaches you those lessons that sometimes it's better just to be relaxed and the good things will happen."
It's that motto that could be lethal for Team USA come United Cup 2025 – relax and good things will happen.
With Gauff and Fritz at the helm of the No.1-seeded team that faces Canada and Croatia in Group A in Perth, they'll aim to do just that.
