US Open 2026: Contenders for the Women’s Singles Title

The last Grand Slam of the year is around the corner, 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 now. 

P.S. With the World No. 2 Elena Rybakina being injured during the Cincinnati Masters, it’s not been confirmed if she would participate at the US Open, hence we are not mentioning her in this list. 

Here, we take a look at five players in the women’s draw who could win the Women’s Singles title this year – 

Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff will go into her home Slam with massive confidence after winning the recently concluded Cincinnati Masters, beating Jessica Pegula in the final. Although this was her first title of the season, Gauff may have regained form and momentum at the right time. She also reached the semis at the National Bank Open in Canada. 

Gauff does like the hard courts and has also won the US Open which was her first Slam title. She has also done fairly well at the grand slams this year, having already reached quarter-finals at the Australian Open and 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 with the American crowd backing her vociferously. 

Iga Swiatek

The Former World No. 1, Iga Swiatek has had an average season according to her exacting standards but in recent weeks, she has shown glimpses of her previous best. 

After the disappointment of an early exit from Wimbledon, Swiatek has 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 given her great preparation for the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. 

Swiatek has definitely regressed in the past two years but she has won 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 2026. Early exits from the French Open and Wimbledon and performing poorly in the North American hard-court swing might see 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 and is the defending champion at the tournament. She has won back-to-back US Open titles in 2024 and 2025 and cannot be taken for granted. 

With Rybakina chasing Sabalenka for the World No.1 title this year, the pressure may have gotten to her lately but she is still a champion player and is a top contender for the US Open again. 

Jessica Pegula

One women’s player who has been an epitome of consistency this year is Jessica Pegula. She has been a previous 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 had finals appearances at the DC Open and the recently concluded Cincinnati Masters. 

Pegula has gotten the better of Top 10 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, Pegula may be really close to winning her first Slam title at the US Open this year.  

Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina is another player who has shown massive improvements and consistency this season winning two WTA titles this year and going deep in several tournaments. 

The 31-year-old mom reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open, won the Italian Open and already broke into the Top 10 rankings this year. She also reached the semi-finals of the National Bank Open in the American hard-court swing. 

Svitolina is an agile player with great defensive skills and will go into the US Open with a lot of confidence as she has massive experience to navigate a big tournament having won several Masters titles and having made deep runs in Grand Slam tournaments. 

Her best performance at the US Open being a semi-final appearance in 2019, Svitolina has an outside chance to go all the way and possibly win her first slam title this season.