By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | September 1, 2019
History made: Kristie Ahn made turned heads earlier this season she won her first main draw match at a major this year 11 years after her main draw debut at a Grand Slam at the 2008 US Open. That gap between first appearance and first win at a major establishes an Open Era record.
The 27-year-old American isn’t done making history yet.
Ahn reached the round of 16 at a major for the first time on Saturday in New York, defeating Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 7-5.
It was a magical moment for a woman that had contemplated retirement in recent years, when success on the tour seemed more like a mirage than a reality.
But thanks to perseverance Ahn is on point at this year’s US Open.
As amazing as it has been, the New York native still has not had time to process all the emotions she is feeling.
“I think if I don't fully process it, then I'll never have to fully deal with it,” she said with a smile on Sunday. “No, when I go back to the hotel, I just think about how awesome of an opportunity it is and what a great experience it's been this week. Nobody can take that away from me. So I'm just so happy about it.”
The World No.141 is the lowest-ranked player remaining in the US Open and she’ll look to continue this magical wild card run on Monday in New York against Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
Ahn will make her Top 100 debut after the US Open and she could crack the Top 75 with a victory over Mertens.
Ahn contributes her success at this US Open to a series of tiny steps—she calls them chips, and she’s stacking them one by one.
“Since Wimbledon, I've been able to accumulate a lot of little life chips, like little wins,” she said. “We call it stacking up the wins. Even if you lose a match, what you're able to take away, the positives, and being able to just keep that building. One day you'll be able to have little towers. I feel like that's what I've been able to really hold onto this week, is in those tough moments know that I've been playing really good tennis. And the tennis that I've been playing, I'm not just training out of my mind, I've backed it up. That's even a better feeling.”
Ahn is great friends with Naomi Osaka, and the World No.1 spoke of her affection for her friend, even joking about Ahn’s mummy-like presence due to all the tape on her body, on Saturday night in New York.
“Even though she walks around like she's Bionic Woman with all that tape,” Osaka said of her friend. “Yeah, literally everyone knows she's one of my only friends on tour. We went to go eat Korean food before this, so maybe that was good luck. Yeah, she's awesome. The fact that she's playing so well now, and I hope that she continues to keep playing well.”
Korean food, making history, and battling through tough matches—sounds like a plan. Perhaps the best has yet to come for America’s Ahn. This success was a longtime coming, let’s hope it comes more regularly now.