US Open 2024: Swiatek with Rybakina, Gauff with Sabalenka
This time, the participants in the New York tournament have been decided.
Unsurprisingly, the course will be a tough one, and it will be the two most stubborn and hard-fighting players who will take to the Center Court this Saturday, September 7, to battle it out for the supreme crown.
In the top half of the draw, Iga Swiatek has inherited a rather affordable field and, although she's not as hard-hitting as she was at the start of the season, she may not be greatly tested until the quarter-finals.
The presence of the young, unassailable Russian nugget Mirra Andreeva, as talented and dangerous as ever, is also worth mentioning, and the Polish player could face her in the last 16.
At the end of the tournament, Swiatek will have to face, theoretically, much tougher opponents such as Collins, one of the sensations of the season, or Pegula who remains on the back of a title (Toronto) and a final (Cincinatti). All this, before potentially facing Rybakina or Paolini in the semi-finals.
At the bottom end of the table, Aryna Sabalenka also seems to have avoided the worst, although there are some serious outsiders in her section.
After a relatively quiet opening round, she could meet the ever-dangerous Madison Keys in the last 16, especially on home soil.
After that, she should, in theory, beat Olympic gold medallist Zheng and then Gauff, the crowd favourite and defending champion, to reach the final.
This year's US Open promises to be another exciting one, with plenty of surprises in store.
US Open 
Davis Cup: between reforms, criticism and national culture 
When tennis stars change courts: from Noah the singer to Safin the deputy, another match – the battle of reinvention 
As a laboratory for tomorrow’s tennis, does the Next Gen Masters have a future? 
Tennis: the little-known truths about the offseason, between rest, stress and physical survival 
