Here are some of the women to watch at the U.S. Open, which begins in New York on Monday:
IGA SWIATEK
Current Ranking: 1
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Poland
Age: 22
2023 Record: 53-9
2023 Titles: 4
Career Titles: 15
Grand Slam Titles: 4 — U.S. Open (1: 2022), French Open (3: 2020, 2022, 2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-Won Championship, 2021-Lost in 4th Rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-2nd, 2018-Did Not Play
Aces: Swiatek will attempt to defend a major title somewhere other than at the French Open for the first time. … Won last year’s U.S. Open after fretting about the tennis balls used there; now those have been switched so the women use the same equipment as the men in New York.
She Said It: “The amount of hate and criticism that me and my team get after even losing a set is just ridiculous. I want to kind of encourage people to be more thoughtful when they comment on the Internet.”
ARYNA SABALENKA
Current Ranking: 2
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Belarus
Age: 25
2023 Record: 44-10
2023 Titles: 3
Career Titles: 13
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-SF, 2021-SF, 2020-2nd, 2019-2nd, 2018-4th
Aces: Sabalenka credited an improved serve — she worked with a biomechanics expert — and improved outlook for her initial major title at Australia in January. … Reached at least the semifinals at the past four majors.
She Said It: “Sometimes I don’t like to watch my matches, because seeing myself struggling so much with emotions, I just can’t handle watching it.”
JESSICA PEGULA
Current Ranking: 3
Career-Best Ranking: 3
Country: United States
Age: 29
2023 Record: 43-14
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 3
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Quarterfinals, U.S. Open (2022), Australian Open (2022), French Open (2021, 2022, 2023), Wimbledon (2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP
Aces: Pegula is 0-6 in major quarterfinals after losing to champion Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon. … Pegula beat Swiatek a day after Tommy Paul beat Carlos Alcaraz this month, the first time since 2008 that players from the U.S. defeated the No. 1 woman and man in the same week.
She Said It: “Being an American at the U.S. Open is so much fun. There’s so much energy. It’s so special. … I get a lot of adrenaline, and sometimes it’s hard for me to balance it.”
ELENA RYBAKINA
Current Ranking: 4
Career-Best Ranking: 3
Country: Kazakhstan
Age: 24
2023 Record: 39-11
2023 Titles: 2
Career Titles: 5
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Wimbledon (2022)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-1st, 2021-3rd, 2020-2nd, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP
Aces: Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022 and was the Australian Open runner-up this January but is 3-4 in her career at the U.S. Open, the only major where she has a losing record. … Nearly completed the so-called Sunshine Double on hard courts, winning Indian Wells in March, then reaching the Miami final in April.
She Said It: “In the end of the day, you cannot always have good days. You never feel 100%. So this is something you need to go through.”
ONS JABEUR
Current Ranking: 5
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Tunisia
Age: Turns 29 on Monday
2023 Record: 24-11
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, U.S. Open (2022), Wimbledon (2022, 2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-Runner-Up, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-3rd, 2018-1st
Aces: Jabeur has reached the final at three of the past five major tournaments, going 0-3 in those title matches. … First woman from North Africa and first Arab woman in a Slam final. … Represented by management company founded by Naomi Osaka and her agent.
She Said It: “I’ve been having more pressure. The more good results that I do, the more pressure I feel.”
COCO GAUFF
Current Ranking: 6
Career-Best Ranking: 4
Country: United States
Age: 19
2023 Record: 38-13
2023 Titles: 3
Career Titles: 5
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2022)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-2nd, 2020-1st, 2019-3rd, 2018-DNP
Aces: Gauff is 11-1 with new full-time coach Pere Riba and consultant Brad Gilbert since a first-round exit at Wimbledon. That includes a victory over Swiatek and the two biggest titles of the Floridian’s career in Washington and Cincinnati. … Reached the 2022 French Open finals in singles and doubles.
She Said It: “Obviously the goal is to win a Slam, but I’m not going to be (thinking), ‘OK, well, I’m supposed to be the U.S. Open champion.’”
MARKETA VONDROUSOVA
Current Ranking: 9
Career-Best Ranking: 9
Country: Czech Republic
Age: 24
2023 Record: 34-12
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 2
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Wimbledon (2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd, 2020-2nd, 2019-DNP, 2018-4th
Aces: Vondrousova’s title at Wimbledon made her the first unseeded female champion at the All England Club. … The left-hander made it to the finals of the 2019 French Open and the Tokyo Olympics. … Missed the U.S. Open a year ago after wrist surgery.
She Said It: “I feel like for me, now, it’s great to know that I can play anywhere.”
KAROLINA MUCHOVA
Current Ranking: 10
Career-Best Ranking: 10
Country: Czech Republic
Age: 27
2023 Record: 33-12
2023 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 1
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2023)
Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-1st, 2021-1st, 2020-4th, 2019-3rd, 2018-3rd
Aces: Muchova reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open in June by saving a match point and winning the last five games against Sabalenka in the semifinals. … Was the runner-up to Gauff in Cincinnati and cracked the WTA Top 10 for the first time a week before the start of the U.S. Open.
She Said It: “I don’t even think I have a favorite surface. Well, I like to play all of them, because with different surfaces, you can use different weapons to suit the game a little bit different.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002.
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