US Open Opens Wide After Sinner Exit as Sabalenka Fights to Keep No 1
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 28
US Open Opens Wide After Sinner Exit as Sabalenka Fights to Keep No 1
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 28
Summary
Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal with a knee injury has blown open the men’s draw, removing one of the clearest favorites before play in New York.
Alexander Zverev enters as top seed after winning his first major at the French Open, while Carlos Alcaraz returns from a 4-month wrist layoff and arrives with fitness and sharpness still in doubt.
Aryna Sabalenka faces a different crisis on the women’s side: the two-time defending champion has gone 17-7 since April, has not reached a final in that span and must win the title to have any chance of staying No 1.
Elena Rybakina starts atop the live standings and would secure No 1 by reaching the semi-finals, while Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula could also rise to the top if they win the title and Rybakina falls short.
That leaves both draws unusually fluid—women’s tennis crowded with proven WTA 1000 winners, and the men’s field lacking a dominant favorite as contenders from Novak Djokovic to Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils chase an opening.