Defending champion Coco Gauff leads the charge of Palm Beach County residents at the US Open.

But the slumping Gauff, the first teenager to win the Open since Palm Beach Gardens’ Serena Williams in 1999, may not go as far as a few of her Palm Beach County compatriots.

Jessica Pegula on the women’s and Tommy Paul and Francis Tiafoe on the men’s side are in finer form.

The good news for the 20-year-old Coco is she’s on the other side of the draw from her Polish nemesis, Iga Swiatek. Maybe there is another big Open run for Delray Beach’s queen of endorsements.

Recent: Coco Gauff mantra defending US Open championship: ‘little pressure … more of a privilege’

Here’s a look at some of Coco’s neighbors.

Jessica Pegula

Pegula, who moved to Boca Raton as a 13-year-old, has experienced a roaring summer. The 30-year-old won her first-ever grasscourt event in Berlin, srepeated as champion at the Canadian Open in Toronto and made The Finals in the most important Open tuneup in Cincinnati.

Pegula is ranked 6th in the world with a 29-10 record in 2024 despite missing some of the year with a rib injury and hiring a new coach in Boca Raton-based Mark Merklein.

Pegula has never made it past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event – which is perplexing. She’s been to the quarters of all four majors.

Pegula’s parents, Terry and Kim, own the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Kim is still battling back from a cardiac arrest incident she suffered in Boca in 2022. Western New York has adopted the daughter and Jessica even took a little shot at Boca recently, saying Buffalo is a friendlier place.

Pegula faces retiring American Shelby Rogers in the first round. Pegula and Gauff are close friends and Pegula said at the pre-Open press conference Coco has “handled (her first major title) really well. I mean, she’s so young.’’

Tommy Paul

Paul, the 27-year-old who moved to Boca Raton as a teenager, played in the Paris Olympics and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a close match to Carlos Alcaraz. Paul also lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Paul is the third-highest ranked American man at 14, two slots below top-ranked No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who lives in Miami, and one slot below University of Florida’s Ben Shelton (13th).

Paul showed difficulty adjusting from the Olympic clay to hardcourts and lost his opening match in the Cincinnati tuneup but is considered the most dangerous foe outside the top 10. Paul announced his arrival as a top contender with a 2023 Australian Open semifinal berth.

Unfortunately, Paul, a New Jersey native, got a bad draw with Italy’s Jannik Sinner potentially in the Round of 16. (Sinner is being allowed to play despite recent drug-test scandal. Most experts see the men’s side as a three-horse race between Sinner, Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

Frances Tiafoe

Tiafoe, Iike many others, moved to Palm Beach County during the pandemic and recently took root in Boca Woods in Boca Raton.

Tiafoe, 26, stole the 2022 Open spotlight as crowd favorite when he made the semifinals as Michelle Obama started showing up for his matches.

The Maryland native lost his form in early part of 2024 but has started to regain his mojo in playing fantastic tennis in Cincinnati, making The Finals, losing to Sinner. Tiafoe said he’s been playing “much better’’ since Wimbledon.

In the first round, Tiafoe will meet Aleksandar Kovacevic. “Hoping for another really big run,’’ Tiafoe said. “I love playing here in New York, obviously.’’

Reilly Opelka

After a two-year absence due to hip and wrist surgeries, the 6-foot-11 bearded Boca Raton resident made his comeback at the Newport, R.I. event in July. Opelka, known for a devastating serve, shocked the tennis world getting to the semifinals in his first event as a wildcard. He came in ranked No. 1,188.

Opelka will face 18th seed, Lorenzo Musetti in the first round. Opelka upset Musetti in Rhode Island.

Opelka used on of hits injury exemption to get into the main draw, telling the Palm Beach Post he didn’t trust the USTA to give him a wildcard. Yes, there was a Open wildcard snub in the past.

Unfortunately, in Cincinnati, Opelka got stuck with Shelton in the first round and lost in two tiebreakers, 7-6, 7-6. “I’m just happy to see his face back out here,’’ Shelton said. “Not happy to return his serve. If I was out for two years, you wouldn’t see me out here at ATP level winning matches the way he is.’’

Ben Shelton

With all the University of Florida alumni in Palm Beach County, Shelton gets a spot on this list. The former UF star was an Open crowd favorite last year when he marched to the semifinals before losing to Novak Djokovic. The 21-year-old has the booming lefty serve that makes him the most likely American male to win a Grand Slam in the future.

Shelton’s return game still needs work. The 13th-ranked Shelton was up 5-4 in the deciding third set in Cincinnati quarterfinals against the elite Alex Zverev but couldn’t close it out and lost 7-5.

Shelton, whose father, Bryan, was a longtime Gators tennis coach, opens with retiring tour veteran Dominic Theim.

Taylor Townsend

Townsend has been more of a doubles star after all the Coco-like hype several years ago when she burst onto the scene.

At 28, the stocky lefty serve-and-volleyer is finally emerging in singles, cracking the top 50 for the first time. Townsend’s family moved from Georgia to Boca Raton when she was 14 to be part of the USTA developmental program.

Townsend, coming off a Wimbledon doubles title, is ranked a career-high 48th.and hence unseeded.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Coco Gauff’s neighbors have shot at US Open glory, too