US Open 2026: Top women's singles contenders
The last Grand Slam of the year is upon us, and the excitement is growing within the tennis fraternity to see who takes the US Open crown home this time around.
The women’s draw is really unpredictable, as we have seen in the other three Slams, which have all been won by different players. Hence, it will be mighty interesting to see who wins the final Grand Slam of the year.
Here, we take a look at the top contenders for the women’s singles title at the 2026 US Open.
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff arrives at her home Slam with massive confidence, having won the recently concluded Cincinnati Masters, beating compatriot Jessica Pegula in the final.
Although this was her first title of the year, it’s safe to say that Gauff has regained her form and momentum at the right time. She also reached the semi-finals of the Canadian Open.
Gauff does like the hard courts and has won the US Open, which was her first-ever Slam title. She has also done fairly well at the Grand Slams this year, having reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
With the kind of form and consistency she has shown since Wimbledon, Gauff is definitely the prime contender for the US Open title, especially with a vociferous American crowd backing her.
Iga Swiatek
The former world No. 1 has had an average season by her standards, though in recent weeks she has shown glimpses of her previous best.
After the disappointment of an early exit from Wimbledon, Swiatek redeemed herself with a Masters title at the National Bank Open in Canada and a semi-final appearance at the Cincinnati Masters. These two tournaments have served as great preparation for her going into the final Grand Slam of the year.
Swiatek has definitely regressed over the past two years, but she did win this title back in 2022 and has looked great in the last two WTA 1000 tournaments, making her one of the favourites to win the US Open title.
Aryna Sabalenka
The world No. 1 is going through a slump since winning the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami Open) in March. Early exits from the French Open and Wimbledon, along with poor performances in the North American hard-court swing, would have set the alarm bells ringing in the Sabalenka camp.
Having said that, Sabalenka is one of the best hard-court players in women’s tennis right now as well as the defending champion coming into the tournament. She has won back-to-back US Open titles in the past two years and, despite her recent form, simply cannot be taken for granted.
With Elena Rybakina chasing Sabalenka for the world No. 1 ranking this year, the pressure may have got to the latter lately. But she is still a champion player and will remain a top contender for the 2026 US Open title.
Jessica Pegula
If there’s one player who has been the epitome of consistency this year, it’s Jessica Pegula. She was a finalist at the US Open in 2024, where she lost to Sabalenka in straight sets.
This season, Pegula has performed exceptionally well. She reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, won the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Charleston Open, reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the National Bank Open, and reached finals of the DC Open and the recently concluded Cincinnati Masters.
Pegula has got the better of top-ten-ranked players seven times already this season and has an affinity for the hard courts with a great serve and all-round game. Backed by the home crowd, she may very well win her first Slam title at the US Open this year.
Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina is another player who has shown massive improvement and consistency this season, winning two WTA titles and going deep in several tournaments.
The 31-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open, while also winning the Italian Open and breaking into the top ten rankings this year. She also reached the semi-finals of the National Bank Open in the American hard-court swing.
The Ukrainian is an agile player with great defensive skills and will go into the US Open with a lot of confidence, as she has loads of experience of navigating big tournaments, having won several Masters titles and made deep runs in Grand Slam tournaments.
With her best performance at the US Open being a semi-final appearance in 2019, Svitolina has an outside chance of going all the way and possibly winning her first Slam title this season.
Note: With world No. 2 Elena Rybakina sustaining an injury during the Cincinnati Masters, it has not yet been confirmed whether she will participate at the US Open, which is why we have opted to not list her here.
