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US Open 2023: Swiatek, Sabalenka and Gauff are among the women to watch
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2023-08-23 22:45
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are some of the top women entered in the U.S. Open in 2023

Here are some of the women to watch at the U.S. Open, which begins in New York on Monday:

IGA SWIATEK

Current Ranking: 1

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Poland

Age: 22

2023 Record: 53-9

2023 Titles: 4

Career Titles: 15

Grand Slam Titles: 4 — U.S. Open (1: 2022), French Open (3: 2020, 2022, 2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-Won Championship, 2021-Lost in 4th Rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-2nd, 2018-Did Not Play

Aces: Swiatek will attempt to defend a major title somewhere other than at the French Open for the first time. ... Won last year's U.S. Open after fretting about the tennis balls used there; now those have been switched so the women use the same equipment as the men in New York.

She Said It: “The amount of hate and criticism that me and my team get after even losing a set is just ridiculous. I want to kind of encourage people to be more thoughtful when they comment on the Internet.”

ARYNA SABALENKA

Current Ranking: 2

Career-Best Ranking: 2

Country: Belarus

Age: 25

2023 Record: 44-10

2023 Titles: 3

Career Titles: 13

Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-SF, 2021-SF, 2020-2nd, 2019-2nd, 2018-4th

Aces: Sabalenka credited an improved serve — she worked with a biomechanics expert — and improved outlook for her initial major title at Australia in January. ... Reached at least the semifinals at the past four majors.

She Said It: “Sometimes I don’t like to watch my matches, because seeing myself struggling so much with emotions, I just can’t handle watching it.”

JESSICA PEGULA

Current Ranking: 3

Career-Best Ranking: 3

Country: United States

Age: 29

2023 Record: 43-14

2023 Titles: 1

Career Titles: 3

Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Quarterfinals, U.S. Open (2022), Australian Open (2022), French Open (2021, 2022, 2023), Wimbledon (2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP

Aces: Pegula is 0-6 in major quarterfinals after losing to champion Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon. ... Pegula beat Swiatek a day after Tommy Paul beat Carlos Alcaraz this month, the first time since 2008 that players from the U.S. defeated the No. 1 woman and man in the same week.

She Said It: “Being an American at the U.S. Open is so much fun. There’s so much energy. It's so special. ... I get a lot of adrenaline, and sometimes it's hard for me to balance it.”

ELENA RYBAKINA

Current Ranking: 4

Career-Best Ranking: 3

Country: Kazakhstan

Age: 24

2023 Record: 39-11

2023 Titles: 2

Career Titles: 5

Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Wimbledon (2022)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-1st, 2021-3rd, 2020-2nd, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP

Aces: Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022 and was the Australian Open runner-up this January but is 3-4 in her career at the U.S. Open, the only major where she has a losing record. ... Nearly completed the so-called Sunshine Double on hard courts, winning Indian Wells in March, then reaching the Miami final in April.

She Said It: “In the end of the day, you cannot always have good days. You never feel 100%. So this is something you need to go through."

ONS JABEUR

Current Ranking: 5

Career-Best Ranking: 2

Country: Tunisia

Age: Turns 29 on Monday

2023 Record: 24-11

2023 Titles: 1

Career Titles: 4

Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, U.S. Open (2022), Wimbledon (2022, 2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-Runner-Up, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-3rd, 2018-1st

Aces: Jabeur has reached the final at three of the past five major tournaments, going 0-3 in those title matches. ... First woman from North Africa and first Arab woman in a Slam final. ... Represented by management company founded by Naomi Osaka and her agent.

She Said It: "I’ve been having more pressure. The more good results that I do, the more pressure I feel."

COCO GAUFF

Current Ranking: 6

Career-Best Ranking: 4

Country: United States

Age: 19

2023 Record: 38-13

2023 Titles: 3

Career Titles: 5

Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2022)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-2nd, 2020-1st, 2019-3rd, 2018-DNP

Aces: Gauff is 11-1 with new full-time coach Pere Riba and consultant Brad Gilbert since a first-round exit at Wimbledon. That includes a victory over Swiatek and the two biggest titles of the Floridian's career in Washington and Cincinnati. ... Reached the 2022 French Open finals in singles and doubles.

She Said It: “Obviously the goal is to win a Slam, but I’m not going to be (thinking), ‘OK, well, I’m supposed to be the U.S. Open champion.’"

MARKETA VONDROUSOVA

Current Ranking: 9

Career-Best Ranking: 9

Country: Czech Republic

Age: 24

2023 Record: 34-12

2023 Titles: 1

Career Titles: 2

Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Wimbledon (2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd, 2020-2nd, 2019-DNP, 2018-4th

Aces: Vondrousova's title at Wimbledon made her the first unseeded female champion at the All England Club. ... The left-hander made it to the finals of the 2019 French Open and the Tokyo Olympics. ... Missed the U.S. Open a year ago after wrist surgery.

She Said It: "I feel like for me, now, it’s great to know that I can play anywhere.”

KAROLINA MUCHOVA

Current Ranking: 10

Career-Best Ranking: 10

Country: Czech Republic

Age: 27

2023 Record: 33-12

2023 Titles: Zero

Career Titles: 1

Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2023)

Last 5 U.S. Opens: 2022-1st, 2021-1st, 2020-4th, 2019-3rd, 2018-3rd

Aces: Muchova reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open in June by saving a match point and winning the last five games against Sabalenka in the semifinals. ... Was the runner-up to Gauff in Cincinnati and cracked the WTA Top 10 for the first time a week before the start of the U.S. Open.

She Said It: “I don’t even think I have a favorite surface. Well, I like to play all of them, because with different surfaces, you can use different weapons to suit the game a little bit different.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis