Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

The 2021 US Open winner will be joined by Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls for the event in Malaga.

Britain defeated France in April to qualify for the knockout stage, with four of the aforementioned five - Watson the exception - taking part.

Captain Anne Keothavong named her five-member team on Monday ahead of the showpiece, which runs from November 13 to 20.

"We are really looking forward to the finals in Malaga after qualifying following our fantastic weekend in France in April," Keothavong said.

"Our team have created excellent memories and put in outstanding performances in this competition in recent years.

"We will relish the opportunity. There is still a lot of tennis to be played, and changes can be made up until the day before our first match."

All 12 teams announced their line-ups on Monday, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff notable names not included for Poland and the United States respectively.

World number one Swiatek and world number six Gauff feel they are unable to compete due to a quick turnaround in events to end the year.

US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro is also out of the USA squad.

Jessica Pegula admitted she was confident in beating a "prime" Iga Swiatek to reach her first grand slam semi-final at the US Open. 

Pegula, who had lost her previous six slam quarter-finals, came through in straight sets at Flushing Meadows to stun the world number one. 

She also became the fourth American in the Open Era to reach the women’s singles semi-final at the Canadian, Cincinnati and US Open in a calendar year after Rosemary Casals (1970), Serena Williams (2013-15) and Sloane Stephens (2017).

Pegula's triumph set up a meeting with Karolina Muchova for a place in the final after the Czech overcame illness to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia, also in straight sets. 

With Emma Navarro along with Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz advancing to the final four, it is the first time two Americans have reached the semi-finals in the women’s and men’s singles at the US Open since 2003, with Jennifer Caprati, Lindsay Davenport, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi the first do so. 

It also marked Pegula's fourth victory over the Pole, with the latest win considered one of her best. 

"I've been [to the quarter-finals] so many freaking times but I kept losing," Pegula said. 

"Finally - finally - I can say I'm a semi-finalist. Thank you to the crowd, you carried me through that last game.

"To do it at prime time against the number one player in the world - it's crazy, but I knew I could do it."

Jessica Pegula advanced to her first-ever major semi-final, stunning Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the US Open on Wednesday.

The home favourite became the fourth American to reach the semi-finals of this year's tournament after Emma Navarro, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.  

Pegula took advantage of the world number one's off-night, cruising through 6-2 6-4 in just under 90 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

There was little let-up for Swiatek, who lost her serve twice in quick succession at the start of the match as Pegula raced into a commanding lead, and the sixth seed recovered well after going behind in the second set to pull back in front.

And Pegula, who made just one double fault, and 22 unforced errors compared to Swiatek's 41, believes that was the difference in the quarter-final.

"I thought I played a really clean match, served pretty well, returned well," Pegula said.

"I feel like I didn't really do anything that bad and was able to kind of jump on her really early, and I think frustrate her.

"I was able to keep my level even when she picked it up in the second set."

Pegula will face Karolina Muchova for a place in the final. 

Data Debrief: Righting wrongs

Going into Wednesday's match, history was not exactly on Pegula's side as she held a 0-6 record in her previous grand slam quarter-finals. 

However, a quick start ensured that she claimed her 21st WTA top 10 win of her career - in the past four decades, only two US players have claimed more without reaching a women's singles final at a grand slam, though she will be hoping to avoid staying on that list.

Pegula is also the fourth American in the Open Era to reach the women's singles semi-finals at the Canadian, Cincinnati and US Open in a calendar year after Rosemary Casals (1970), Serena Williams (2013-15) and Sloane Stephens (2017).

Iga Swiatek believes she is growing into the US Open and improving with each day that passes after storming into the quarter-finals by beating Liudmila Samsonova.

Five-time grand slam winner Swiatek is hunting her second title at Flushing Meadows, and she will face home favourite Jessica Pegula in the last eight after overcoming Samsonova 6-4 6-1.

She needed just over an hour and a half to see off the 16th seed on Monday in what represented her 100th main-draw match at grand slams.

Among those to begin their careers in the Open Era, only six female players have bettered Swiatek's total of 83 victories through their first 100 major outings.

Monica Seles managed 93 wins, putting her ahead of Chris Evert (90), Steffi Graf (87), Martina Hingis, Serena Williams (both 86) and Venus Williams (85).

Swiatek is also one of just four players in the last two decades to win 12 straight grand slam matches versus WTA top-20 opponents, alongside Graf, Seles and Serena Williams.

She still believes there is more to come, though, as she approaches Tuesday's headline tussle with sixth seed Pegula.

"At the beginning, I felt like we were playing men's style, just holding our serves but I knew that if I kept pushing I may get some chances to break," Swiatek said. 

"That happened and I'm happy I was there to close the first set. Then I just wanted to keep being focused and not let my mind drift off.

"I'm happy with the whole performance. I'm feeling better and better every day."

The victor of Swiatek's meeting with Pegula will face Karolina Muchova or Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the final, after the former upset Jasmine Paolini and the latter overcame Caroline Wozniacki.

Haddad Maia's' 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over Wozniacki – who won the 2018 Australian Open – made her just the second South American woman to claim multiple US Open victories over former grand slam winners (two), alongside Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini.

Iga Swiatek cruised into the fourth round of the US Open, crediting a chat with Serena Williams for her straight-sets win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The world number one prevailed 6-4 6-2, without facing a break point in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.

Swiatek needed just 95 minutes to get into the next round, setting up a meeting with Liudmila Samsonova.

A four-game winning streak in the second set put the game beyond doubt, earning her a third straight-sets victory of the tournament so far.

"It was nice that Serena [Williams] approached me [in the players' gym], because I wouldn't, for sure, find courage to do that," Swiatek said.

"Even though we met before and for a couple of years we have been on the same sides and on tour together, she's still star-striking for me.

"It inspired me, and it gave me a positive kick.

"It's not like my tennis is perfect, but it is weird because I have been number one and winning tournaments, I feel I need to work on some stuff."

Data Debrief: Total dominance

Swiatek, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2022, is into the fourth round at a grand slam for just the second time this year, having failed to reach it at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

It is the 16th time she has reached that stage in her 23rd main draw appearance - only Coco Gauff has also reached the fourth round in over half of her main draws at grand slams among active players.

The Pole looks to be in fine form though, with this victory lifting her winning percentage to 82.8% (82-17) in women's singles matches at grand slam events - she is now up to 11th on the all-time list in the Open Era, surpassing Martina Hingis.

Iga Swiatek cruised into the third round of the US Open with a commanding straight sets win over Ena Shibahara in 64 minutes at Flushing Meadows. 

Swiatek, who won the title in New York in 2022, made just six unforced errors as she triumphed 6-0 6-1 against her Japanese opponent. 

A dominant opening service game set the tone for the encounter, with the world number one racing into a 4-0 lead in double quick time before closing out the first set. 

Shibahara, however, would get her first and only game on the board early in the second, but had to do so by saving three break points to hold her serve. 

From then on, Swiatek took control, dropping just four points in the final three games to comfortably progress to the next round without breaking a sweat.

Swiatek will face the winner of Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's encounter for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition on Saturday.

Data Debrief: Super Swiatek rolls on

Swiatek is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the round of 32 in 19 consecutive women’s singles grand slam tournaments, after Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.

The Pole is also the youngest player to win 20 of her first 22 second round appearances in women’s singles grand slam since Victoria Azarenka in 2012, who won 21 of her first 22 second round appearances.

Iga Swiatek moved into the US Open second round after holding off a spirited Kamilla Rakhimova for a straight-sets win on Tuesday.

Lucky loser Rakhimova came close to forcing a decider, but the world number one rallied to win 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in just under two hours.

The early stages of the match suggested it would be a one-sided rout as Swiatek got two early breaks to race into a 4-0 lead, but Rakhimova clawed it back to 4-3 before the Pole dug in to take the set.

A similar story followed in the second set, though the world number 104 was unable to close out the victory after edging in front at 5-4, with Swiatek forcing a tie-break.

Swiatek then saved a triple set point from 6-3 down, winning the final five points to avoid an early upset and set up a meeting with either Daria Saville or Ena Shibahara in the next round.

Data Debrief: Swiatek tries her luck

It could have been a much different story for Swiatek had Rakhimova been able to hold her nerve in the tie-break, but as such, the 2022 winner stays in the tournament.

She is now the fifth-youngest player in the Open Era to win the first round in 20 consecutive women's singles grand slam events.

Meanwhile, only Serena Williams (93) and Venus Williams (94) have made 80 women's singles grand slam wins in fewer matches than Swiatek (97) this century.

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.

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.

Aryna Sabalenka said her semi-final victory over Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open is firmly in the past as she looks towards ending her US Open preparations with a title.

Sabalenka, who has reached her fifth Tour-level final of the year, triumphed in straight sets over Swiatek to set up a showdown with Jessica Pegula in Ohio.

The Belarusian had lost her last three matches against Swiatek, but snapped that run to reach her first Cincinnati Open final at the fourth attempt. 

"It was a brilliant performance from me. But I just want to focus on staying in the moment and giving my best tennis every time I'm on the court," Sabalenka said. 

"I try to stay calm, confident and aggressive on the court. That definitely gave me a lot of confidence, going into the US Open.

"But that's already in the past, if I focus on this win, it'll stay in the past. I'm really happy with the win."

Having taken a 5-1 lead, Sabalenka saw seven match points saved by Swiatek in the seventh game, squandering two more shortly after as the Pole threatened to produce an unlikely turnaround. 

But Sabalenka was able to get over the line at the 10th attempt, saying that period was the toughest moment of the encounter. 

"I kept telling myself 'she's the world number one, she's going to keep fighting and doing her best'," Sabalenka said.

"You have to stay aggressive. You have to put pressure on her.

"You have to play your tennis and try. That was my mentality in the tough moments.

"That was definitely the toughest moment of the match. When I'm in the zone, what thoughts do I have? There are no thoughts. Just about the tennis.

"About the next ball coming. Just about hitting and trying to make the right decisions. You have nothing in your head."

Aryna Sabalenka reached the Cincinnati Open final for the first time by toppling Iga Swiatek, clinching an impressive 6-3 6-3 victory over the world number one.

Sabalenka needed one hour and 48 minutes to beat Swiatek and book a final meeting with either Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa.

The Belarusian entered Saturday's heavyweight clash having lost on all three of her previous semi-final appearances at Cincinnati, falling short of the showpiece match in 2018, 2022 and 2023.

However, she produced a fine performance to end that hoodoo on Sunday, preying on a below-par showing from Swiatek, who won just six of 30 points on her second serve throughout.

Sabalenka made her intentions clear by breaking to love in the second game of the encounter, and though Swiatek hit straight back, another break in the sixth game was enough to hand her the opening set.

Both players were tested on their own serve in the second set, with Sabalenka saving four of five break points faced while converting three of 13 she generated on Swiatek's serve.

Swiatek saved a remarkable 10 match points, eight of them against her own serve, as Sabalenka was forced to clinch her victory the hard way, but a fifth break of the match finally got her over the line.

Sabalenka has now made five WTA Tour-level finals in 2024, the joint-most alongside Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.

Data Debrief: Another big scalp for Sabalenka

Sabalenka's victory was her fourth over a world number one at WTA 1000-level events since the format's 2009 introduction, the joint-most of any player alongside Petra Kvitova.

She has now reached a total of 29 WTA Tour-level finals, the most of any player on the tour since 2017 (Swiatek is second with 26).

Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals after coming from behind to deny Mirra Andreeva on Saturday.

The world number one recovered from losing the opening set to prevail 4-6 6-3 7-5 after two-and-a-half hours, setting up a mouth-watering last-four clash with Aryna Sabalenka.

In the first ever meeting between the players, Andreeva made a positive start as she broke her opponent in the third game, while saving two break points in the sixth and 10th to draw first blood.

That sparked Swiatek into life; a break in the opening game of the second set proved enough for the four-time French Open champion to level the contest.

The Pole broke again in the decider and, after Andreeva squandered the opportunity to break back at 6-5 by sending a backhand long, she won the next two points to advance to the semi-finals. 

Data Debrief: A perfect 10 from 10 for stubborn Swiatek

Matching her performance from last year in Cincinnati, where she was beaten in the last four by Coco Gauff, Swiatek will hope to go the extra steps this time around.

The Pole maintained her perfect quarter-final record in 2024, having now won all 10 such matches, and is now 16-1 at this stage in WTA 1000 events, with her only defeat coming against Elena Rybakina by retirement in Rome last year.

With her 30th main-draw victory at a WTA 1000 this season, she becomes only the second player after Serena Williams (36 in 2013) to reach that tally in a single year.

And Swiatek has now reached the highest percentage of semi-finals since the format's introduction in 2009 (17 from 31, 54.8%).

Iga Swiatek continued her preparations for the US Open in style as she cruised to a straight-sets victory over Marta Kostyuk at the Cincinnati Open. 

The Pole needed just 69 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition, earning a 6-2 6-2 victory after rain delayed the start of play in Ohio. 

Swiatek started the encounter as it meant to go on, earning a break point in the third game which proved decisive as she made her mark on proceedings early on. 

Despite the best efforts of the Ukrainian, the world number one strolled to within a set of victory after winning 73% of her first-serve points. 

Kostyuk simply had no reply to her Polish opponents' dominant service game, finding herself 3-0 down in double quick time in the second. 

Swiatek would drop just six points in the final three games, concluding the encounter with a love game to set up a tie against the winner of Mirra Andreeva and Jasmine Paolini on Saturday. 

Data Debrief: Swiatek replicates winning streak

Since Swiatek’s debut on Tour in 2019, only two players have won 14+ consecutive WTA-1000 main draw matches, those being the Pole herself in 2022 (23, Doha - Toronto) and again this year (14, current streak). 

Only Agnieszka Radwanska (14, between 2012 and 2013) has made more WTA-1000 quarter-finals in consecutive seasons than the Pole in 2023-2024 (13) since the format’s introduction in 2009.

Iga Swiatek survived in her return to hard courts at the Cincinnati Open, outlasting Varvara Gracheva in three sets to advance to the third round. 

Swiatek, who was playing in her first match since her bronze medal at the Olympics, was taken to a third-set decider, but emerged as a 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 victor in Ohio.

“For sure, the transition is probably the hardest, from the slowest surface to the fastest surface,” Swiatek said.

“But that’s why I’m still happy with my performance, and looking forward to another match to kind of still do the grinding and implement what I was working on, but not really focusing on the results.”

The world number one looked set for a comfortable passage to the next round of the competition after winning the first set 6-0, serving three of her seven aces in the opener.

But her French opponent responded, matching Swiatek stride for stride in the second before prevailing in a tie-break to take the encounter the distance. 

However, Swiatek would once again show her dominance, winning the final four games in a row to set up an encounter with Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Lulu Sun in straight sets. 

Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses yearly triumphs

Despite a third set, Swiatek has claimed 11.2% (27/242) of total sets played by a score of 6-0 in completed WTA 1000 matches - the highest rate of any player (min. 20 sets) since the format's introduction in 2009.

The Pole now has 28 WTA-1000 match wins in 2024, surpassing her own career-high of 27 (2023). Only Serena Williams (36, 2013) has now recorded more WTA-1000 wins in a season, since the format’s introduction in 2009.

Iga Swiatek has measured her expectations ahead of the Cincinnati Open this week, with the top-ranked seed placing full focus on the US Open later this month. 

Swiatek, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, returns to the hardcourt surface for the first time since the Miami Open back in March. 

The Pole has since won three titles on clay in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, before losing to Yulia Putintseva in the third round on the grass courts of Wimbledon. 

She returned to Roland-Garros with her eyes set on Olympic gold, but settled for a third place finish after beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in her bronze medal match.

However, Swiatek, who plays Ajla Tomljanovic or Varvara Gracheva in the second round this week, acknowledged how difficult the transition will be. 

"I know that the first tournament on hardcourts isn't going to be easy," said Swiatek. 

"So I'm going to try to treat it as a practice tournament, but not in a way that I don't care - more in a way that I want to implement all the stuff that I practiced on.

"I think it's the best approach for me now."

The US Open offers an opportunity for Swiatek to claim a second title Stateside, with the possibility of taking her grand slam total to six. 

But with Cincinnati first up, the Pole said that the Lindner Family Tennis Center is the perfect platform to build to the tournament in New York later this month. 

"I felt after the Olympics I need to reset and also focus on getting my technique back together and just grinding on court," Swiatek said.

"Here's the perfect place to do it. It feels a little bit less crazy, but on the other hand, even before the tournament, there are many people and a lot of fans.

"So you still feel it's an important tournament."