The final grand slam of the season is already upon us, with the US Open getting going on Monday.
Flushing Meadows will welcome the best and brightest as they aim to light up New York City, where home favourite Coco Gauff will be the defending women's singles champion.
She clinched her maiden major title at Arthur Ashe Stadium last year, overcoming Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Gauff will be the third seed at this year's tournament, with Sabalenka second and world number one – the fearsome Iga Swiatek – rated as the favourite.
With the help of Opta data, we look into the likely challengers for this year's title.
Will Swiatek cap stellar year?
Swiatek has won 55 matches in 2024, which is the most of any player on the WTA Tour. She also has the longest winning streak in Tour-level events this season, too, having reeled off 21 straight victories.
The all-conquering Pole has won six Tour-level events this term – the United Cup, Qatar Open, Indian Wells Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open. Unsurprisingly, Swiatek also has the best win percentage of any player across 2024 (88.7%, having lost just seven of her 62 matches).
Swiatek – who clinched bronze at the Paris Olympics – has won all six finals she has been involved in this term, becoming the third player this century after the Williams sisters to triumph in their first six finals of a season across multiple years (2022 and 2024).
The 23-year-old holds a record of 79-17 at grand slams, and the best winning percentage of any active player (82.3%). Among players to have started their career in the Open Era, only six players could achieve 80 wins in fewer major matches than Swiatek (97) – Monica Seles (86), Chris Evert (89), Martina Hingis (92), Serena Williams, Steffi Graf (93 each) and Venus Williams (94).
She will face qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round. Swiatek has won in straight sets in all her previous eight matches against qualifiers or lucky losers, while she is also undefeated in her five first-round ties at the US Open.
In fact, the last time Swiatek lost in the opening match of an event was at the WTA Finals 2021 in Guadalajara. She has played 48 tournaments since then without ever falling at the first hurdle (United Cup and Olympics included).
Among current players with 10+ main draw matches played at the US Open, only Bianca Andreescu (85.7%) and Naomi Osaka (81.5%) have a higher winning percentage at Flushing Meadows than Swiatek (80.0%).
Sabalenka on song
Swiatek and Sabalenka tussled on the clay courts earlier in the season, but the latter has endured a difficult summer swing and had to skip the Olympics.
But she returned to form at the Cincinnati Open, triumphing over Jessica Pegula to claim her second title of the season.
Her first was the Australian Open, and that means Sabalenka could become the first woman to win both hard-court grand slams in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. Indeed, since the Australian Open switched to hard court in 1988, the Belarusian could be the fifth woman to reach both hard-court major finals in successive seasons after Graf (1988-90, 1993-94), Seles (1991-92), Hingis (1997-99) and Victoria Azarenka (2012-13).
Like Swiatek, Sabalenka will take on a qualifier (Priscilla Hon) in round one. She won her previous meeting with Hon, back in Mumbai in 2017. The top two seeds will both face qualifiers in the first round of a grand slam for the first time since the Australian Open 1996 (Seles and Conchita Martinez).
Sabalenka is undefeated in her six first-round ties at Flushing Meadows, while she is aiming to be the fourth player in the Open Era to win the title in Cincinnati and New York in the same season, with Gauff having done just that last year.
Only Swiatek (25) and Emma Navarro (24) have won more hard-court matches than Sabalenka in 2024 (23), while the previous season's runner-up at the US Open has only lost in the first round on one occasion in the Open Era (Pam Shriver in 1979).
Gauff and Pegula the fan favourites
The Olympics ultimately ended in tears and frustration for Gauff, and after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and French Open, her season is somewhat threatening to peter out. Indeed, her only title this year came in the first tournament of the campaign, in Auckland.
Yet as one of four American players since 2000 to win the singles title at the US Open, she will be fiercely determined to retain her crown at Flushing Meadows and will be backed by vociferous home support.
The world number three is not the only home favourite in with a firm chance, though.
Pegula won nine successive main-draw matches, equalling her longest career winning streak, across her campaigns at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, before losing to Sabalenka in the final of the latter tournament.
The sixth seed could become only the fourth player in the Open Era to reach the singles finals at the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and US Open in a season after Rosemary Casals (1970), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1973) and Serena Williams (2013).
The other contenders
Emma Raducanu has not had quite the hard-court swing she would have liked, but the youngster triumphed in New York as a teenager back in 2021, and will be one to keep an eye on.
Jasmine Paolini heads to Flushing Meadows fresh from claiming Olympic gold at Roland-Garros, where she also reached the French Open final earlier this year. The Italian has both hit the most winners (409) and converted the most break points (80) in singles matches at grand slams in 2024.
She will go up against 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu in round one, making the duo the first players to face each other in the women's singles at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same season since Serena Williams and Justine Henin in 2007.
Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, has served the most aces (85) at majors this year.
Then there is two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. She will go up against Jelena Ostapenko, and combined with Sofia Kenin taking on Raducanu, it makes this tournament the first time that two former grand slam winners are taking each other on in first-round ties in New York since 2019.
US Open: Can Djokovic end wait for outright grand slam record?
When Novak Djokovic triumphed at Flushing Meadows last year, he surely thought the outright record for grand slam titles was all but his.
Yet just shy of a year later, Djokovic is still waiting for his 25th major win - and the one that would take him clear of Margaret Court, making him the undisputed greatest of all time.
He came close at Wimbledon, but Carlos Alcaraz ultimately had too much, with the Spaniard winning the final in straight sets.
Alcaraz, the 2022 US Open champion, will be one of the most likely candidates scrapping it out for Djokovic's crown over the next two weeks, along with world number one Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic avenged that Wimbledon defeat with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) win over Alcaraz in the final of the Paris Olympics, with the 37-year-old ending his wait for a gold medal.
But while that gold is now hanging around his neck (or, in his trophy cabinet, which must be pretty big), it did not settle Djokovic's desire for that record-breaking major triumph. His next tournament win would also bring up his 100th career title.
Should Djokovic fail to defend his crown, though, it will be just the fourth year since he won his first major in 2008 that he has not won a grand slam in a season, after 2009, 2010 and 2017.
But what do the Opta statistics tell us about the key storylines ahead of the US Open?
Can Djokovic dominate?
Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have won the US Open a joint-record five times each. Should Djokovic win, he will join that illustrious trio on five Flushing Meadows titles.
Connors has appeared in (115) and won (98) the most singles matches of any player in the Open Era at the tournament, but Djokovic (88) has won the most among active players and could equal Federer (89) for the second-most by defeating Radu Albot in round one on Monday.
Should Djokovic reach the second round, he will also match Federer's tally of matches played in the competition (103).
At 87.1%, Djokovic holds the second-best win percentage at the US Open in the Open Era of players to have featured in at least 30 matches at the event, after Sampras (88.8%).
The Serbian great, who became the oldest player to win the men's singles at the US Open when he succeeded at the age of 36 years and 111 days in 2023, has featured in the most men's singles finals in the tournament's history (10). He is the only player in the Open Era to have reached 10+ finals at multiple grand slams, having also done so at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Should he reach the quarter-finals, barring walkovers, Djokovic will surpass Federer (429) for the most matches played at grand slams in the Open Era. If he were to then reach the last four, he would be the first male to appear in 50 major semi-finals, and the second player overall after Chris Evert (52).
Connors (109) and Federer (103) are the only players to win 100 Tour-level titles, while Djokovic is chasing his 72nd hard-court title, which would take him clear of Federer (71).
Could the kids have too much?
Djokovic may have outfought Alcaraz at the Olympics, but that was only after he had been dispatched by the world number three at the All-England Club.
Alcaraz, who said he had played his worst-ever tennis during a shock defeat to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, could become only the third player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year after Rod Laver (1968) and Rafael Nadal (2010).
Aged 21 years and 126 days, he would also be the youngest man to win a singles title at three grand slams in a calendar year. He won his first major title at Flushing Meadows two years ago, and reached the semi-finals last season, losing to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev.
Then there is the world number one, and top seed, Sinner. The Italian was forced to miss the Olympics due to illness, but after going out in the last eight at the Canadian Open, he returned to form with a sensational run to triumph in Cincinnati.
That was his fourth title of the season. Excluding team events, Sinner (23 years, 23 days) could become the youngest player to win five ATP trophies on hard court in a calendar year since Andy Murray in 2009.
Since the Australian Open switched to hard court in 1988, Sinner could become only the fourth male to win that competition and US Open in the same year, after Mats Wilander (1988), Roger Federer (2004, 2006 and 2007) and Djokovic (2011, 2015 and 2023).
Sinner has now won three ATP 1000 hard-court titles in total. Across the past decade, only three players have won more Masters titles on the surface: Djokovic (17), Federer (seven) and Medvedev (five).
The last top seed to lose in their opening match at the US Open was Stefan Edberg, who lost to Alexander Volkov in 1990.
Indeed, the US Open is certainly not a tournament in which you can confidently say "expect the unexpected" when it comes to major shocks.
Only two top seeds in the Open Era have been eliminated in the first round of the men's singles – John Newcombe (1971) and Stefan Edberg (1990). Andre Agassi is the last first seed to not reach the second week at the event, losing to Arnaud Clement in straight sets back in 2000.
Jabeur withdraws from US Open with shoulder injury
Ons Jabeur has withdrawn from the US Open with a shoulder injury just days before the season's final grand slam gets under way.
Most recently, she featured at the Canadian Open in Toronto where she lost in straight sets to Naomi Osaka in the first round.
The Tunisian has been struggling with injuries all season, seeing her miss the Paris Olympics and tournaments in Washington and Cincinnati.
And, just hours after the draw for the US Open was made, the world number 17 decided that her shoulder injury will not allow her to compete at Flushing Meadows.
"I am truly sad to announce that my shoulder won’t recover in time for the US Open. I feel I need to give 100 % and today it's not possible yet," Jabeur wrote on Instagram.
"Life has ups and downs, but sometimes in the very negative moments we all need to find the positive in it. This year has been very tough for me, but I know somewhere the light is there.
"Always grateful for the unconditional support you all bring to me."
The 29-year-old will be replaced in the draw by Elise Mertens, who will become the number 33 seed.
Jabeur achieved her best grand slam result at the US Open, reaching the final in 2022, but lost in straight sets to Iga Swiatek.
She also came agonisingly close to a major title in two further final appearances at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023.
Alcaraz to start US Open bid versus qualifier, Sinner faces McDonald
Carlos Alcaraz will begin his bid for a third straight grand slam success against a qualifier at the US Open, while top seed Jannik Sinner will face Mackenzie McDonald in the first round.
Alcaraz won his fourth major title at Wimbledon in July, dominating Novak Djokovic in the final after also triumphing at the 2022 US Open, Wimbledon in 2023 and the French Open earlier this year.
Should the Spaniard progress through his first-round match, he could take on Botic van de Zandschulp in round two and Britain's Jack Draper in the third round.
Seeded third, Alcaraz could face world number one Sinner in the semi-finals, with the Italian starting his campaign against a home favourite in McDonald.
Sinner recently avoided a ban after twice testing positive for banned substance clostebol, with an independent tribunal finding he was inadvertently given the steroid in an over-the-counter spray by his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.
On the other side of the men's draw, Djokovic will also start against a qualifier as he bids to finally surpass Margaret Court's overall record of 24 grand slam titles.
Djokovic won his 24th major crown at the 2023 tournament at Flushing Meadows, beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the final.
He has struggled to find top gear at this year's grand slams, though he did claim his first Olympic gold medal by beating Alcaraz in the showpiece match at Roland-Garros.
In the women's draw, top seed Iga Swiatek will start against a qualifier while Coco Gauff will open her title defence by taking on Varvara Gracheva, with a testing third-round date with Elina Svitolina potentially on the cards for the third-seeded American.
Aryna Sabalenka joins Swiatek in facing a qualifier first, while there is a tricky draw for 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu, who is set for her first Flushing Meadows appearance since 2022.
She will take on the United States' 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, with the victor set to face another American in round two, in either Shelby Rogers or sixth seed Jessica Pegula.
The first round of the US Open begins on Monday, with the women's singles final set for September 7 and the men's showpiece match taking place one day later.
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