Alex Eala will open her US Open most important draw debut on Sunday when she takes on Clara Tauson of Denmark.
In the meantime, the next are a number of the different contenders for the ladies’s singles title on the US Open:
JESSICA PEGULA (UNITED STATES)
*World rating: 4
Final 12 months’s US Open runner-up shall be desperate to go one higher however a shock French Open loss to wildcard Lois Boisson and a first-round Wimbledon exit has executed little to assist her confidence.
The 31-year-old has received two of her three titles this 12 months on dwelling soil, in Austin and Charleston, however since Wimbledon the American has struggled to provide her finest kind.
She misplaced to Leylah Fernandez in Washington, to Magda Linette in Cincinnati and to Anastasija Sevastova on the Canadian Open, the place Pegula was a two-times defending champion.
She shall be hoping to re-assert her authority in New York after failing to transcend the fourth spherical in any of the 12 months’s first three majors.
MIRRA ANDREEVA (RUSSIA)
*World rating: 5
{The teenager} turned the youngest participant to win a WTA 1000 title when she triumphed in Dubai aged 17 in February. She then backed it by toppling world primary Aryna Sabalenka within the Indian Wells closing, having overwhelmed Iga Swiatek en route.
Whereas deep runs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon underscored her all-court credentials, it’s on hardcourts that the Russian’s sport can do probably the most harm.
Andreeva’s health shall be beneath scrutiny at Flushing Meadows after she suffered an ankle harm throughout her Canadian Open third-round loss to McCartney Kessler. Unable to play in Cincinnati, she shall be hoping her lack of match follow doesn’t lower quick her US Open run.
MADISON KEYS (UNITED STATES)
*World rating: 6
The Australian Open champion and 2017 US Open runner-up proved that she has the temperament to win on the massive stage after beating Sabalenka at Melbourne Park to assert her first Grand Slam title in January.
Although the US hardcourt swing supplied solely flashes of Keys’ early-season kind, the 30-year-old will look to rebound after a 3rd spherical exit at Wimbledon.
Keys had a quarter-final run on the Canadian Open, the place she misplaced to Fifteenth-ranked Clara Tauson, earlier than a last-16 defeat by Elena Rybakina in Cincinnati.
Backed by a robust dwelling assist in New York, Keys shall be onerous to cease if her ferocious forehand is firing.
ELENA RYBAKINA (KAZAKHSTAN)
*World rating: 10
The 2022 Wimbledon champion and 2023 Australian Open finalist has by no means gone previous the third spherical on the US Open in six makes an attempt, and final 12 months’s withdrawal earlier than her second-round match on account of a again harm additional stalled her progress.
Rybakina didn’t transcend the fourth spherical in any of the Grand Slams this 12 months however her tune-up week in Cincinnati hinted she is perhaps peaking on the proper time after she blasted previous Sabalenka and likewise beat Keys earlier than falling to eventual champion Swiatek within the semi-finals.
Together with her aggressive baseline play and one of many tour’s largest serves, Rybakina stays a menace.
VICTORIA MBOKO (CANADA)
*World rating: 24
A number of weeks in the past barely anybody would have paid a lot consideration to Canadian teenager Mboko. However following a fairytale run to the Montreal title, the 18-year-old will discover herself beneath the Flushing Meadows highlight when she makes her debut on the hardcourt main.
The 18-year-old surprised 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff and Rybakina earlier than beating Naomi Osaka within the Montreal closing to win her first WTA title.
After her well-known comeback win over four-times Grand Slam champion Osaka, Mboko pulled out of Cincinnati to relaxation and handle a wrist harm.
She is going to make her first U.S. Open main-draw look seeded, a staggering leap for a participant who began the 12 months ranked 333rd.
Powered by a robust first serve, heavy groundstrokes and surging confidence, Mboko might properly upset the established order of world tennis over the subsequent fortnight.
—Reuters
