The US Open 2022 is knocking on the door already. The final Grand Slam event of the year, the US Open will display many top players, all of who will be eager to grab the title. While the men’s players have been in the news quite often ahead of the tournament for Novak Djokovic, many female players will certainly put up a memorable performance at the Flushing Meadows and make headlines.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has been in stellar form this season. She won 37 matches and six titles on the trot, including the French Open, and has stood apart from the rest of the tour. However, with Alize Cornet beating her at Wimbledon, many players may have the belief that they can replicate the Frenchwoman’s success. A lot of players have produced some good tennis lately and are capable of contending for the US Open.
Last year’s winners of the women’s Emma Raducanu will also be part of the action this time. The defending champion will hope to end the year on a high and retain the title in their categories. However, retaining the title is easier said than done. She will have a huge task of fending off the challengers as the Grand Slam will have a strong lineup like every year. With the main bracket of the tournament merely days away, here are the six players to watch out for in the 2022 US Open –
#6 Ons Jabeur
The Tunisian star has been in the form of her life since the beginning of the year. She has won 38 matches in the ongoing year while dropping only 13. Her best hard-court performance came at the Qatar Open in Doha earlier this year, when she reached the quarterfinals.
The 27-year-old’s best result at the US Open has been the third round thrice in 2019, 2020 and 2021 but it can be expected that she will be going deeper into the competition this time around.
#5 Simona Halep
Halep has been an interesting player to watch this year. She was the National Bank Open winner in Toronto earlier in August, which means she is just in the right form for a winning bid at the hard court of the Flushing Meadows.
The 30-year-old has won 39 matches in the ongoing year while dropping only 10 matches. She has also previously reached the semifinal of the US Open once in 2015 but was knocked out in the Round of 16 in the 2021 edition.
The Romanian star is currently the second on tour behind Iga Swiatek in terms of return points won (49.8%). She is also the second on the list for hard-court wins on tour in the ongoing season, behind Iga Swiatek.
#4 Serena Williams
The US Open 2022 is going to be the final tournament of Serena Williams’ career. For those who don’t know, this legend is going to call it a day once she plays her final point at Flushing Meadows.
Of course, her form and performances have declined in recent times, but people forget that Williams is now in her 40s. And as sad as it always is for legends of the game, they cannot be at the top forever. She would hope that she brings her A-game to show the world why she is regarded as one of the greatest there has ever been.
Serena has a decent opening round against Kovinic. But should she win, she will face Kontaveit – the number 2 seed. This may seem bleak, but Serena is a true champion of the game.
#3 Madison Keys
The American star is somewhat an unexpected entry to this list. The 27-year-old was the dark horse at the recently concluded Cincinnati Open, where she defeated the likes of Yulia Putintseva, Jelena Ostapenko, world no. 1 Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon 2022 winner Elena Rybakina.
However, while she was beaten by Petra Kvitova, she did not go down without a fight. Keys leads the chart in the WTA tour in service points won with 63.1%.
#2 Maria Sakkari
Sakkari has been in decent form in 2022. She has won 28 matches in the ongoing season so far while dropping 17. The Greek star advanced to the final of the women’s singles category at the Indian Wells and Cincinnati Masters, however, was beaten by Caroline Garcia and Iga Swiatek.
However, this means that she is in a good rhythm ahead of the US Open, where she reached the semifinals last year.
#1 Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is the favorite to lift the 2022 US Open title
The current WTA no. 1, Swiatek is in incredible form in the ongoing season. She recently won the Cincinnati Masters defeating Maria Sakkari, apart from also winning Qatar Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open.
The 21-year-old has won 50 matches in the ongoing year, dropping only seven. Swiatek reached the Round of 16 at the US Open last year but will certainly put up a tough fight and advance deeper in the Grand Slam event in this edition. The Polish star is currently leading the chart in WTA in return games won at 52.1%.