Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will both be contending at the US Open, which is the next Grand Slam tournament on the horizon.
Swiatek has just won Wimbledon, her sixth Grand Slam title and first since Roland Garros in 2024.
This was another major tournament without a title for world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who was beaten by Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals.
Now, former top 10 player Jack Sock has given his prediction about which of Swiatek and Sabalenka he thinks is more likely to win the US Open.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesWho Jack Sock thinks is more likely to win the US Open out of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek
Despite Swiatek’s resurgent Wimbledon title victory, Sock actually believes Sabalenka is more likely to win the US Open this year.
Sabalenka is the defending US Open champion, and Sock has suggested that she will be hungry to end her Grand Slam drought in 2025.
“All credit to Iga but I think I am probably going to ride with Sabalenka as the favourite for the US Open,” Sock said on the Nothing Major podcast. “I think she has proven on all surfaces she can play so big and dominant and blow women off the court in some of these matches with her aggressive play.
“I would side with Sabalenka probably. But Iga not far behind at all. And if not equal favourite for some of these. But I think Sabalenka will come out swinging and have a big purpose come New York and the US Open.”
Swiatek won the US Open in 2022, and Steve Johnson responded by explaining why he thinks she is now fully back in the picture for the biggest titles.
“I think she is definitely going to be talked about in that category again,” said Johnson. “She has not won a title in a year until this point. Iga has firmly planted herself back in the conversation of winning these titles with the other women in the draw.
“Her forehand was immensely better. It felt like she hit it cross court 95% of the time and she was never going to miss and then ultimately just dominated with her backhand.
“Her movement is insane on the grass. It’s such a weapon, especially on the women’s side. You feel as if she is one of the only few women who are sliding on a grass court and moving like that.”
What happened when Iga Swiatek played Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open?
The first time that Swiatek played Sabalenka at a Grand Slam tournament was in the semifinals of the 2022 US Open.
Despite Sabalenka being up a break in the third set, Swiatek won the match, 3-6 6-1 6-4, to reach the US Open final.
After the match, Sabalenka admitted in her press conference that she made a mistake against Swiatek.
“Well, she was just going for it,” Sabalenka said at the time. “She was hitting every ball and, like, putting me under pressure and playing really aggressively.
“Especially, like, I gave her a lot of opportunities in the first few games. She, like, after she leads 2-Love, then she was just going for it and I was just trying to come back. There was less pressure on her, more pressure on me.
“She was playing aggressively, and I was trying to stay in the game, which was my mistake, I think. I should just go for it.”
That is one of only two times that Swiatek has played Sabalenka at a Grand Slam, with the Belarusian getting revenge at Roland Garros this year.