The last Grand Slam of the tennis season is here with a wide-open field set to battle it out in the women’s US Open.
While the men’s draw is without a couple of big names, the women’s US Open list is brimming with elite talent.
In the final Grand Slam of the tennis season set to get underway at Flushing Meadows, the No. 1 world ranking is up for grabs with Aryna Sabalenka fighting off Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
Fighting For No.1
While the draw runs deep with potential US Open champions, the three at the top of the list are chasing Aryna Sabalenka’s world No. 1 ranking.
Sabalenka is without a Grand Slam title this year, but Flushing Meadows is where she can end her relative drought. She’s the back-to-back defending champion and a deserving $4.20 favourite to make it three in a row regardless of her recent form. She’d become the first women’s player to win three consecutive US Open singles championships since Serena Williams in 2014.
The pressure is on, though.
Only 500 points separate her from Elena Rybakina, who is on the fifth line of betting at $13. She already has a hard-court Grand Slam this year after winning the Australian Open and has lost only three of her 30 matches on the surface this season. The concern here, and the reason for her double-figure price, is the fact that Rybakina has never advanced past the fourth round at the US Open.
ELENA RYBAKINA IS AN AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION 🏆
The No.5 seed defeats Aryna Sabalenka in an enthralling three-set encounter in Melbourne 👏 @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/iWAAHFZFHR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2026
Both Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula need Rybakina to lose before the semifinals if they’re to grab the No. 1 world ranking.
Gauff is among the genuine contenders at $6. She’s been threatening another US Open win since claiming the title in 2023 but has been beaten in the fourth round in her last two tournaments. Still, she performed well at the Miami Open and in Toronto to be playing some of the best tennis of her career, and should produce a deep run here.
Meanwhile, Pegula will need to come in from $13 to win the title. She’s the No. 3 seed and one of the most consistent and formidable hardcourt players in tennis right now. She made it through to the final last year and will be looking to go one better following a consistent summer run.
Staying In Contention
The top players in women’s tennis are beating each other up at every event right now. Unlike the men’s event, where three players are dominating most of the major titles, the Top 11 heading into this one are all carrying silverware this season.
The entire WTA top 11 today holds a big title 🤯
Sabalenka—US Open, Indian Wells, Miami
Rybakina—WTA Finals, Australian Open
Pegula—Dubai
Gauff—Wuhan, Cincinnati
Andreeva—Roland-Garros
Noskova—Wimbledon
Muchova—Doha
Swiatek—Toronto
Svitolina—Rome
Anisimova—Beijing
Kostyuk—Madrid— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) August 24, 2026
Iga Swiatek is a former world No. 1 and is on the second line of betting to win the US Open at $5.50. She’s recently won her first title of the season in Toronto and will be confident at Flushing Meadows, having been crowned as champion in 2022. Swiatek’s form has been scratchy. She failed to defend her Wimbledon crown and exited Paris in the fourth round. Still, with a 79% win rate on a hardcourt surface throughout her career, she’s going to be a threat.
As a two-time US Open champion with all four of her Grand Slam wins coming on hard courts, Naomi Osaka is on the fourth line of betting at $10. She reached the semifinals here last year and made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon earlier in this one, but as the No. 13 seed, faces a tough path to the top.
Naomi Osaka was playing some brilliant tennis the last time out at the #USOpen pic.twitter.com/wlmnZ16bju
— SiscoEyeballs II (@naochieyes) August 25, 2026
Mirra Andreeva’s form has been up and down since winning the French Open at Roland Garros, but she has proven Grand Slam pedigree and appeals at $13. Still young and learning the week-to-week consistency of professional tennis on the tour, expect to see her lift for a big one and act as a disruptor to the draw, if she doesn’t finish on top of it in the end.
Women’s US Open Winner: Amanda Anisimova – $15, Marta Kostyuk – $18, Linda Noskova – $21, Iva Jovic – $23, Elina Svitolina – $26, Alexandra Eala – $26, Karolina Muchova – $31, Madison Keys – $36
US Open – Women’s Best Bet
Aryna Sabalenka is a proven performer at the US Open and will be tough to beat. Likewise, Elena Rybakina has her eyes on the world No. 1 ranking coming into this one. However, the value is in a home favourite peaking at the right time.
Jessica Pegula can take advantage of Sabalenka’s patchy form and Rybakina’s ankle injury. Swiatek faces a brutal draw in which she could face either of the top two seeds in the quarterfinal, too.
The path to success is there for Pegula if she can string it all together, as she has consistently done on this surface. Overall, she wins at just under 70% on hardcourts at the WTA level on the back of her clean ball-striking and early timing. She’s also familiar with playing in front of a home crowd and reached her first Grand Slam final here in 2024.
Pegula is a weapon on hardcourts and recently claimed an impressive 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal triumph over world No. 8 Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati. With a Grand Slam title within reach and a WTA World No. 1 ranking there with it, Pegula will leave it all out there.