The hard-court summer has reached close to boiling point, with the US Open now just days away.<\/p>\n
A total of 128 women will be in main-draw action when the event begins this Sunday, though a few will likely have more realistic hopes of lifting the title.<\/p>\n
Here, we rank our five leading contenders to lift the women\u2019s singles title at the US Open<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n 5) Madison Keys<\/p>\n Projected seeding: No 6<\/p>\n Momentum from her stunning Australian Open triumph<\/a> may have cooled, but Keys should certainly be considered a significant factor in New York.<\/p>\n The world No 6 reached the US Open final back in 2017 and was also a semi-finalist in both 2018 and 2023, with 33 career match wins at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n Unlike in previous years, Keys\u2019 status as a Grand Slam champion may ease some internal pressure heading into her home Grand Slam.<\/p>\n Her Montreal and Cincinnati campaigns were enough to suggest she is in solid form this summer, and could be a real threat.<\/p>\n 4) Elena Rybakina<\/p>\n Projected seeding: No 9<\/p>\n Rybakina\u2019s season has been difficult to assess on and off the court, though she has seemingly found some consistency this summer.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n 2025 US Open women\u2019s singles seeds: Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff top 3, Raducanu needs withdrawal<\/a><\/p>\n Iga Swiatek\u2019s staggering top-10 win feat only bettered by two tennis icons since 1990<\/a><\/p>\n The Kazakh was a semi-finalist in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati, and while she lost all three semi-finals, her results were among the most consistent among any players.<\/p>\n Her case is perhaps weakened by her comparatively poor record in New York, with just two round-three showings to her name, though her game should be adaptable to any hard courts.<\/p>\n Rybakina is set to be the ninth seed in New York, and is someone the top stars will look to avoid.<\/p>\n 3) Coco Gauff<\/p>\n Projected seeding: No 3<\/p>\n Gauff\u2019s<\/a> form in 2025 has been scrappy, to say the least, but one thing stands out: her impressive triumph at the French Open earlier this summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, despite the ongoing issues around her serve<\/a>, the American heads back to her home Grand Slam in New York, where she will take confidence from her victory at the event back in 2023.<\/p>\n Gauff has probably not found the level of tennis she has consistently wanted this season, but her status as one of the best \u2013 if not the best \u2013 competitors on the WTA puts her firmly in contention.<\/p>\n If she can work her way into the draw, there is no doubt that she could end up winning her third Grand Slam singles title this fortnight.<\/p>\n 2) Aryna Sabalenka<\/p>\n Projected seeding: No 1<\/p>\n World No 1 Sabalenka<\/a> has produced one of the most consistent and high-level seasons of her career, which makes it all the more baffling that she is yet to win a Grand Slam.<\/p>\n Keys and Gauff beat her in the Melbourne and Paris finals, respectively, while her Wimbledon dreams were dashed in the last four by Amanda Anisimova<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sabalenka enters the US Open as the reigning champion and, having reached at least the semi-final in the last four years, is a huge contender to win the title here.<\/p>\n A quarter-final loss in her Cincinnati Open title defence, however, has opened the door for a new favourite in New York.<\/p>\n 1) Iga Swiatek<\/p>\n Projected seeding: No 2<\/p>\n If Swiatek\u2019s<\/a> first half season was a little underwhelming by her high standards, the past two months have seen her well and truly flip the script.<\/p>\n A run to the final in Bad Homburg was followed by her sixth Grand Slam triumph at Wimbledon, and then her first Cincinnati Open title just this week<\/a>, propelling her back up to No 2 in the WTA Rankings.<\/p>\n Success at two events that have traditionally not been her strongest bodes well heading into Flushing Meadows, where she was the champion back in 2022.<\/p>\n Swiatek appears to be back at, or at least close to, her imperious best, and recent momentum marks her out as the favourite to win a seventh Grand Slam title.<\/p>\n