Noah Lyles explains why US Open Tennis players can be called world champions

Noah Lyles had a big proclamation about the NBA just last year. The Olympic track runner noted that the champions of the 30-team association do not have the right to be called world champions. Understandably, every single one of the league's stars got mad. So, do players from the WTA and ATP have the right to be crowned the best in the world? Are Jannik Sinner, Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka, and Taylor Fritz able to call themselves champions of the globe? The track star was fairly clear with his answer, via The US Open X account.

“These are world champions. International players that play against the top in the world constantly. These are world champions,” Noah Lyles said.

For years, there was not much movement in the ATP because of how dominant the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic were. Now, there is some semblance of parity in men's tennis and the US Open is a big example. No one from the aforementioned legends has been able to win a grand slam title in the calendar year. This is because of how Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz have performed in the last major.

Moreover, it is also not just these two US Open finalists that can claim the world championship title. Players like Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper, and Francis Tiafoe all have an equal shot at winning a grand slam too.

Have things been the same for the women's side of the US Open?

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The same can be said for the WTA. Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula may have both been phenomenal at the US Open but they had their fair share of competitors. Pegula had to overcome Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After that, she also had to face Karolina Muchova in three sets to get to the finals. Sabalenka shared the same tough road because of her difficult matches against Emma Navarro and Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinwen Zheng.

Noah Lyles knows exactly what it's like to constantly battle against the international top guns. So, his proclamation after seeing the US Open up close could very well be correct.