Not every US Open junior champion has gone on to achieve success at the main tournament.
Lindsay Davenport is the only woman to win both the junior and senior singles title at the US Open in her career.
Victoria Azarenka and Amanda Anisimova have come close to replicating Davenport, having both reached the US Open final after winning the junior title in New York.
Alexandra Eala, Marion Bartoli and Jennifer Capriati have also won the junior title at the US Open, but not every junior champion has gone on to achieve success at the main tournament.
Heather Watson has never won a US Open main draw match despite winning the junior title
In 2009, Heather Watson became the first British player to win the girls’ singles title at the US Open, dropping just one set en route to the title.
Watson has gone on to achieve success since turning professional, having won four WTA titles and reached a career-high ranking of world number 38.
She also made runs at Grand Slam tournaments, with Watson’s best ever performance at a major tournament coming at Wimbledon in 2022, when she made it all the way to the fourth round.
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Watson has won at least six matches at three Grand Slam tournaments, but she remains winless in the women’s singles draw at the US Open.
Despite winning the junior title at the US Open, Watson has lost all 10 main draw matches she has played at the New York major.
The first of those came in 2011, when Watson pushed third seed Maria Sharapova all the way before losing out in three sets.
Since then, Watson has lost every single match at the US Open, with seven of her 10 defeats coming in straight sets.
| Year | Heather Watson’s US Open result |
| 2011 | First Round – Lost to Maria Sharapova (3), 3-6 7-5 6-3 |
| 2012 | First Round – Lost to Li Na (9), 6-2 6-3 |
| 2013 | First Round – Lost to Simona Halep (21), 4-6 6-4 6-2 |
| 2014 | First Round – Lost to Sorana Cirstea, 6-1 6-1 |
| 2015 | First Round – Lost to Lauren Davis, 7-6(3) 7-6(0) |
| 2016 | First Round – Lost to Richel Hogenkamp (Q), 6-2 7-5 |
| 2017 | First Round – Lost to Alize Cornet, 6-4 6-4 |
| 2018 | First Round – Lost to Ekaterina Makarova, 6-1 3-6 6-3 |
| 2020 | First Round – Lost to Johanna Konta (9), 7-6(7) 6-1 |
| 2021 | First Round – Lost to Kaja Juvan, 6-1 6-4 |
Can Heather Watson win a main draw match at the 2026 US Open?
Since her most recent main draw defeat at the US Open in 2021, Watson has only played in qualifying in New York.
Watson, who is now the world number 445 after being out of action with a left leg injury last year, was able to enter US Open qualifying using her protected ranking this year.
The now 34-year-old has taken full advantage of this, with Watson beating sixth qualifying seed Claire Liu and Angela Fita Boluda to move to within one win of the main draw of the US Open for the first time in five years.
In the final round of qualifying, Watson faced her compatriot Harriet Dart, who she had won two of her three previous meetings against.
Watson led the match against Dart by a set and 4-2, but ultimately lost out in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat to her fellow Brit.
This means that Watson’s bid for a US Open main draw win will have to wait until at least 2027.
