Transit of Venus... and Serena? The future of US women's tennis

Sloane Stephens, the world No 25, reached the Australian Open semi-finals by beating Serena Williams, the world No3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Not 20 until March, this daughter of an NFL running back has immense potential – her favourite surface is clay but her best Grand Slam performance, before now, came on grass at Wimbledon in 2012. Photograph: Dave Hunt/EPA

Madison Keys is just out of the world top 100 for now – at No105 – but after her eye-catching displays in Australia she is set to climb the rankings. She reached the third round in Melbourne after beating the 30th seed, Tamira Paszek of Poland, in round two. Angelique Kerber of Germany proved too good, winning 6-2, 7-5, but great things are expected of the 17-year-old from Rock Island – not least because in 2009, at the age of 14, she beat Serena Williams 5-1 in World Team Tennis. Photograph: Mark Dadswell/EPA

Jamie Hampton – pictured here during her encouraging 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 third-round Australian Open defeat by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the world No1 – is ranked 63rd in the world. Born in Frankfurt – her father was in the US Army – 23 years ago, she won her first Grand Slam match in Melbourne this year, 6-2, 6-4 against Urszula Radwanska of Poland. Photograph: Barbara Walton/EPA

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Varvara Lepchenko took US nationality in 2007, having lived in the country since 2001, and citizenship in 2011. Ranked No20 in the world, the 26-year-old's best performance at a grand slam was a run to the last 16 at the French Open last year – the last American standing in either draw, she lost 6-2, 6-1 to Petra Kvitova. Subsequently qualified for the London Olympics, where she lost in the second round. Photograph: Dale De La Rey/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Dale De La Rey/AFP/Getty Images

Christina McHale, a 20-year-old right-hander from Teaneck, New Jersey, is ranked 36th in the world – 10 places behind Venus Williams, whom she idolised in a childhood spent partly in Hong Kong. That means she speaks “basic Mandarin”. She has reached the third round – but no better – at least once at each Grand Slam tournament. In Melbourne, in the first round, she lost in three sets to Yulia Putintseva of Russia. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Vania King, who was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Russia's Maria Kirilenko in the first round in Melbourne, turned down a place at Stanford in order to go pro. The world No76 in singles, she won the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open doubles titles in partnership with Yaroslava Shvedova. Her brother, Philip, won two US junior titles. Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

Lauren Davis, the world No81, who is 19 and from Ohio, fell in the first round in Melbourne, beaten 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 by Daria Gavrilova of Russia. Her best Grand Slam performance came in Paris in 2012, when she beat the 30th seed, Mona Barthel of Germany, in straight sets before losing to Christina McHale in the second round. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Melanie Oudin, who was beaten by Britain's Laura Robson at the Australian Open, has been around for a while. Now No84 in the world, the 21-year-old from Georgia has been as high as No31. She made headlines in 2009 by reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open, which she had entered as a wild card. Playing with America's Jack Sock, she won the mixed doubles title at Flushing Meadows in 2011. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Coco Vandeweghe, a 21-year-old New Yorker now resident in California, lost in the first round at Melbourne, in straight sets to Sorana Cristea of Romania. The world No99 – she has been 30 places higher – reached the second round of the US Open in 2011, losing in two sets to the eventual champion, Sam Stosur of Australia. She reached her first WTA Tour final in Stanford last year, but lost 5-7, 3-6 to Serena Williams. Photograph: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images