Triumph and Tears: Relive 10 of the Most Emotional Moments From the 2021 US Open

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev faced off against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a heated battle for the men’s singles trophy. Here, Medvedev has fallen to the court after winning the third and final set, copying a celebration from the video game FIFA. “Only legends will understand,” he said after the match when talking about his display of victory.

The crowd began chanting one of Djokovic’s nicknames, Nole, after he won a game to make Medvedev’s lead 5-4 in the last set of the men’s singles final. Djokovic broke out in tears when waiting for the changeover. “Tonight, even though I have not won the match, my heart is filled with joy and I’m the happiest man alive because you made me feel very special on the court,” he said in his acceptance speech. “You guys touched my soul. I’ve never felt like this in New York.”

Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, 18, beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the first all-teen Grand Slam final since 1999. With her victory, Raducanu became the first-ever qualifier to reach and win a major final.

Diede de Groot, representing the Netherlands, became the first person in wheelchair tennis history to achieve a Golden Slam when she won the women’s singles wheelchair competition. This feat occurs when you claim titles at all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic Games in a given calendar year.

Two hours after de Groot’s victory, Dylan Alcott of Australia won the US Open quad singles final, making him the first man across tennis disciplines – and third person ever – to achieve the coveted Golden Slam.

China’s Shuai Zhang and Australia’s Samantha Stosur celebrated after out-playing Americans Coco Gauff and Caty McNally for the US Open women’s doubles title. This was their second Grand Slam win together.

During the women’s doubles trophy ceremony, McNally put her arm around Gauff, her doubles partner, who wiped away tears. “We’ve been through a lot together, honestly, like ups and downs. We’ve had some really tough matches, but I’m really lucky to have you next to me along this journey,” McNally said. “We’re going to figure it out, I know we will. We’ll be back here another day.”

Fernandez had a number of emotional moments at the US Open this year, but this moment in particular is from her semifinal match against Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka. Here, Fernandez reacts to making it through to her first-ever Grand Slam final and becoming just the fourth Canadian to reach a major final.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz was one of the standout teens at the US Open before he retired from his quarterfinal match on Sept. 7. Here, he reacts to winning an intense third-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who was seeded No. 3 in the tournament. This victory made Alcaraz the youngest player to defeat a top-three-ranked opponent at the US Open in the Open era. (Note: After he won the following match, he became the youngest men’s singles US Open quarterfinalist in the history of the Open era.)

Greece’s Maria Sakkari and Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, played a match on Sept. 6 that lasted three-and-a-half hours. Its 2:13 a.m. ET finish was the latest of any US Open women’s singles match. Later on in the tournament, Sakkari became the first Greek woman to advance to the singles semifinals at the US Open.