Preview Women's US Open 2024 as Swiatek, Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina all battle for Flushing Meadows glory

The US Open is upon us, and it promises to be a very exciting showdown between some of the best players in the world. Our preview looks ahead to the tournament which takes place between August 26 - September 8.

World number one Iga Swiatek is there and hoping to win her second US Open trophy. Her form recently hasn't been that good but she's always a player to watch. They're switching back to the balls used in 2022 when she dominated everyone so that's a thing to look out for.

Defending champion Coco Gauff, who won the title in the previous year's tournament, will be there, hoping to also win her second US Open. Her form has also been all voer the place and there will be an added pressure on her. This upcoming US Open is quickly becoming a referendum on Gauff as a player. How will she handle it?

Finally, we also have to mention last year's runner-up Aryna Sabalenka. She found a tremendous level in Cincinnati last week, which is why she is widely regarded as the top favourite. The super-quick courts, which favour aggressive play and quick reactions, and the new/old light tennis balls add an additional storyline to what promises to be an already exciting affair. She's on record confirming that she favours the heavier balls, so she might have some issues here. In any case, let's break it down quarter by quarter to see how things might unfold.

As it's customary, the top seed at the event is located in the first slow of the draw in the first quarter. This year, it's Iga Swiatek, and simply by that, she's the favourite to remain the lone player standing from this quarter. Her form does warrant that type of optimism, but anything more than a quarter-final becomes highly questionable because she hasn't really been able to prove it lately.

We haven't seen her produce at her absolute best level in recent weeks, and her lone prep came in Cincinnati. That should be enough for a couple of wins, but it doesn't guarantee that she'll be the last player standing from this quarter. It's mostly because Jessica Pegula is also in her quarter, and she's been the best-performing player leading up to the US Open.

The American won the Canadian Open and made the Cincinnati Open final, so she won't be easy to deal with. She, though, has a bigger problem than Swiatek initially because she is staring at a potential clash with Emma Raducanu in the second round. It depends on whether she beats Shelby Rogers and if Raducanu beats Sofia Kenin, and both seem likely.

Raducanu will have plenty of eyeballs on her because this is the place whree she made history. Coming back here will always be closely followed by the media and hse's looked pretty decent at this time year. The draw was very tough for her but if she stuns Pegula somehow, watch out. We know what happens when Raducanu gets on a roll in New York.

Two other players stick out from this quarter. One is Danielle Collins, who won the Miami Open this year and is going to play her final US Open. That makes her a dangerous opponent, as she'll play without pressure and will have heavy fan backing. She's also on Pegula's side of the quarter, making her path to the quarter-finals really tough.

Mirra Andreeva is another name to watch. The Russian has been playing amazing tennis this year and did well in New York last year. She could potentially be Swiatek's opponent in the fourth round, which would be an amazing one.

The next quarter doesn't lack any kind of firepower, as Elena Rybakina is in this one. She hasn't played that much tennis lately due to physical issues but did play one match in Cincinnati. It wasn't the best match, though, but even so, she should do really well in New York on talent alone.

A few wins would get her into a solid rhythm, and then anything is possible. Her first match should be against a qualifier, and then it would probably be Elise Mertens. It doesn't look too complicated, though she might face Caroline Wozniacki in round three, which could be a potentially tricky one. Wozniacki just knows how to play big hitters like Rybakina, and she herself has shown in the past that she can get quite nervous when things start to go south.

Rankings-wise, the top player in her quarter is Jasmine Paolini. She might not be the biggest name, but she played in the last two Grand Slam finals. The Italian is far from a pushover and actually beat Rybakina at Roland Garros. Getting that rematch between them would be amazing, but there are some dangers lurking for Paolini in the draw. Chiefly, former champion Bianca Andreescu, whom she'll face in the first round.

Another tricky one for Rybakina could be Leylah Fernandez, who also stood in the final here a couple of years ago and actually bested the Kazakhstani player in Cincinnati recently. Jelena Ostapenko is another player who could stun from the shadows. She's an incredible hitter who thrives in these conditions. Don't forget that she bested Iga Swiatek at the US Open last year.

This quarter belongs to defending champion Coco Gauff, who found herself in the 96th position in the draw chart. Gauff's US Open series has been pretty bad so far, as she failed to impress in both Toronto and Cincinnati. It's very different from last year's when she played well and then won the US Open. If her recent level indicates what's to come, she won't be winning this year's US Open trophy, but her draw doesn't look too bad. She's supposed to start off against Varvara Gracheva, who is fairly beatable. Elina Svitolina might wait in the third round, but that's a fairly solid matchup for her. Three players stick out as those who could end her run before she gets out of this part of the draw.

The first one is Emma Navarro, who she could face in the fourth round if both of them win their matches. What makes this one tricky for her is that Navarro outplayed her at Wimbledon and possesses a game that can trouble Gauff quite a bit. The second player is Barbora Krejcikova, whom she would face in the quarter-final if they both won all their matches. Krejcikova is a tricky player to gauge because she's incredibly streaky. She won Wimbledon when nobody saw it coming.

The same thing happened at Roland Garros a couple of years ago. It mostly comes down to how well she feels and plays, and on her best days, she can beat Gauff. The final player is Paula Badosa, and it mostly comes down to how well the Spaniard has been playing recently. She also won the Citi Open in Washington and maintained a solid level in the previous events. She's a really solid hitter and has a good serve, which is the skillset you need to do wonders at the US Open. She's also proven to be quite a tough matchup for Gauff in the past. Still, with the crowd backing her and her comfort level being high in New York, not seeing her at least in the quarter-final will be a major surprise.

As it's customary, the final quarter is reserved for the second seed at the event, and it's Aryna Sabalenka. According to many, she's the top favourite to win the event because she's playing the best tennis right now. She just won Cincinnati in a pretty dominant fashion, and as we saw last year, those who win Cincinnati generally do well in Cincinnati. The draw was pretty solid for her as she got quality in the first round, and none of the players should face early looks that dangerous. Ons Jabeur might be one to look out for because she's beaten Sabalenka in the past and stood in the US Open final in 2022.

Her biggest threat, though, will be Madison Keys. Keys is an extraordinary player who regrettably rarely finds her best tennis. It tends to happen more often on US soil, so that 4th round match against Sabalenka would be fireworks. If the Belarussian passes that test, she likely wouldn't have many issues with a giant Donna Vekic.

She's expected to cruise comfortably to at least the semi-final, and then anything can happen. She missed out on the trophy last year, but expect her to be quite motivated this year, and she's in peak form right now.

Overall it promises to be a really fascinating event. We have many great players attending, and quite a few of them have proven themselves capable of winning the whole thing. This might go down as one of the most exciting US Open we've had in a very long time.