If American tennis has had an issue, the blame for that misconception falls on the men. The women have never truly been underwhelming. Serena Williams carried the baton for many years, but that has been picked up by Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, among several others. Ashlyn Krueger might be well on her way to the top of the rankings as well.
The 6'1" and 20-year-old American is already inside the top 50 of the WTA. She simply hasn't yet had the kind of matches she had against Elena Rybakina at the Miami Open. Did she get a bit nervous to close out the match in the second round? Yep. But that is only Krueger being human.
To be fair, Kreuger actually played better when she was in danger of losing the match. She led the third set 4-3 and led her service game 40-love before Rybakina came back, won four straight points, and held an advantage against Rybakina. Krueger then came back with some strong serves to hold and take a 5-3 lead.
Ashlyn Kruger defeats Elena Rybakina at the Miami Open
Rybakina is a powerful player and a former Grand Slam winner. She knows what it takes to win at a high level and win at a high level in Miami. Krueger was not defeating Rybakina on clay, but on a hard court, and this means the American had no real advantage.
But make no mistake that Krueger has been ascending over the last year. She had deep runs in Adelaide and the Abu Dhabi Open this year. She is gaining confidence, and learning to trust her game. She might still need to work on touch, but she has elite power. Her serve, on a hard surface, is going to give any player issues.
What she needs to work on, just as any player does, is to cast off the nerves it takes to win important matches. She double-faulted to start the final game in the third set against Rybakina, and Rybakina is veteran enough to know when someone feels nervous. But Krueger was able to win the next point on a soft volley. She managed to get two huge serves off to finish off the set, and she won the match 6-4 2-6 6-4.