With Serena Williams holding such a significant place in tennis history, so much discussion in regards to the American women is focused on her. However, she is currently one of five ranked inside of the top-30, with three of those in the top-10.

As Williams continues to seek history, the remaining group of these highly ranked Americans has positioned themselves for success during the coming Wimbledon fortnight, as well. Most notably, Madison Keys, who has broken into the top-10 for the first time in her career.

Despite falling in the round-of-16 at Roland Garros, Keys finished her clay season on an uptick. With victories against Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova during the stretch, her confidence clearly spiked. She immediately rode this wave of momentum onto the grass courts at Birmingham, where she won the title last week. She will enter SW19 having won 15 out of her last 18 matches and will look to build upon those numbers on a surface that favor her powerful serve and big ground strokes. At just 21 years of age, Keys has blossomed to lead the charge of the younger generation of American women.

However, there is a seasoned veteran who continues to impress and prove that she is in no hurry to end her career, as well. Having turned 36 years of age last week, Venus Williams has been a fixture inside the top-10 recently.  And though it has been 8 years since the veteran last won a major, it would not be wise to assume that the 5-time Wimbledon champion is not capable of making waves in the coming two weeks. With her day-to-day, no pressure mentality, Williams has demonstrated the ability to put together high-level streaks of tennis well into her 30’s. The hurdle will likely be whether she can maintain that level over such an intense two-week period.

Regardless, Williams is a fan favorite at Wimbledon and will have plenty of support from the London crowd. She has always brought her best game to the venue where she last won a grand slam in 2008.

Elsewhere, 24-year old Coco Vandeweghe, has seen her stock rise and her game soar during grass season. After taking the title at Hertogenbosch, she followed with a semifinal run at Birmingham where she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska along with way.

These results came off the heels of a disappointing clay season, where her lack of success resulted in her exclusion from the U. S. Olympic team. Nonetheless, the Californian has placed that behind her and is playing with what appears to be a clean slate. Focusing on a solid net game to compliment her powerful strokes, Vandeweghe has become a factor on grass, a surface where she once was not comfortable. Ranked at world no. 29, she will be a seeded player in the coming fortnight. 

Meanwhile, the puzzling game of Sloane Stephens has continued over recent months. A player who has shown the ability defeat anyone in the world has also had some head-scratching losses, as well. Stephens last exhibited her impressive skill set in a title run at Charleston in April. There, she would defeat Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber during a stint where she played high caliber tennis. However, just weeks later, she fell to qualifier Patricia Tig and later world no. 89 Pauline Parmentier during clay season.

Nevertheless, Stephens is ranked world no. 22 as she enters Wimbledon and the grass courts should produce a refreshing change from the clay. She has chosen to bypass preliminary grass court tournaments, opting to refresh and recharge.

And then there is world no. 1 Serena, who will step onto Centre Court where she will continue her pursuit of history. A title would equal Steffi Graf in career major championships and would be her seventh at Wimbledon. Interestingly, her last grand slam title came in London, a year ago. She left there with a “Serena Slam” and needed only the U. S. Open title to complete a calendar year slam. She has not won a major championship since.

But this year, it will not be Williams who solely bears the weight for the United States. She now has a group of competitors behind her who have the potential to create some news of their own. With the high level of tennis, some have recently displayed, there are many reasons for American optimism as this group prepares to compete in the season’s third major.