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US Open draw: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff in same half; defending champ Sabalenka, Rybakina on quarterfinal collision course
Aryna Sabalenka has been handed a tricky draw at the US Open
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has been handed a tricky draw at the US Open, as the women's singles draw for the 2025 edition of the Grand Slam was revealed on Thursday. She had overcome American Jessica Pegula in the final last year to claim her maiden US Open title, and became the first woman in eight years to hold both the hard-court majors in a single season.
The Belarusian, who found herself in the top half of the draw, will begin her title defence against Rebeka Masarova, and has 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez as her projected third-round opponent. The No. 31 seed heads into the tournament on the back of a title-winning run at the Citi Open last month. No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina is Sabalenka's projected round-of-16 opponent. The Kazakh had defeated her in straight sets last week at the Cincinnati Open.
If Sabalenka can navigate safely past her quarter, she could potentially meet Pegula in the semis. The 2024 finalist, who reached the semifinals of the new-look US Open mixed doubles alongside Jack Draper, will face Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in the first round, and has No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva as her projected quarterfinal opposition.
The bottom half has two former US Open champs, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek. The Pole, who narrowly missed out on the US Open mixed doubles title alongside Casper Ruud, as the pair went down to Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori on Wednesday, will start her quest for a second major in New York against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango. She could run into No. 29 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the third round and No. 13 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round, who beat her in the Miami Open last year. Wimbledon finalist and No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova could be her quarterfinal opponent.
Gauff, on the other hand, has Australian Open champion Madison Keys, the No. 6 seed Naomi Osaka, in the same quarter. Meanwhile, Venus Williams returns to the women’s singles draw after two years, facing 11th seed Karolina Muchova in the opening round as a wild card.
