Jabar Ekspres – The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, kicks off on Monday (28/8), with the rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the WTA number one ranking heating up.
The current WTA number one, Swiatek, holds the title of defending US Open champion. The Polish player won her first US Open title and second Grand Slam title of 2022 after beating Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6(5) in the final.
The victory was Swiatek’s first hard-court Grand Slam title and the third major title of his career. This year, Swiatek added a fourth major title to his tally after successfully defending his title at Roland Garros.
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At this US Open, for the third consecutive Grand Slam, the world No.1 ranking will be contested by No.1 Swiatek and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka – Swiatek will be ranked No.1 for 74 and 75 consecutive matches in New York.
To maintain the top ranking, according to WTA records, quoted Thursday, Swiatek must advance one round further than Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open earlier this year.
Swiatek comes to Flushing Meadows with a win-loss record 53-9 and brings four titles, namely from Doha, Stuttgart, Roland Garros, and Warsaw. Her best results on hard courts were the title in Doha and a finalist in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka arrived in New York with a win-loss record of 44-10 and three titles, namely Adelaide 1, Australian Open, and Madrid Open. The Berlarus player was a US Open semifinalist last year.
Beyond the rivalry between Swiatek and Sabalenka, the host players Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff also heated up the fierce competition in the US Open women’s sector.
The two Americans swept the summer hard-court warm-up tournaments ahead of the US Open. Pegula, the world No.3, won the Montreal Open, while Gauff, the world No.6, won the Washington Open and the Cincinnati Masters.
