Iga Swiatek recharges for US Open defence with Aryna Sabalenka hot on her heels

NEW YORK – Iga Swiatek has carried the torch as world No. 1 with unmatched consistency on the WTA Tour for more than a year, but the drained defending US Open champion is facing a major threat to her position with Aryna Sabalenka poised to pounce.

The Pole has had a vice-like grip on top spot since inheriting it after Ashleigh Barty’s retirement in April 2022, but Australian Open champion Sabalenka has steadily chipped away at the deficit and can leapfrog her rival by winning in New York.

Swiatek has not been beaten before the quarter-finals of a tournament since January, but the 22-year-old appeared to be running out of steam ahead of 2023’s final Grand Slam, which starts on Monday.

“I would say my tank of fuel is pretty empty. I’m not even going to regret a lot because I’m happy I’m going to have days off,” she said after going out in the semi-finals at Montreal and Cincinnati.

The French Open champion said she would try not to be hard on herself ahead of her US Open title defence.

“I know from my experience that being a defending champion isn’t easy. I’m going to take it easy on myself and just try to do everything step by step,” Swiatek said.

Despite needing to recharge and refocus, she will still be heavily backed to retain her crown and secure a fifth Grand Slam title, but Belarusian Sabalenka underlined her own hard-court credentials with her breakthrough win in Melbourne.

She followed that up by making the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, where she could have taken the No. 1 ranking for the first time. Not that it mattered too much to her, though.

“For me, it’s more about how you finish the year than during the year you’re first, second, you just go back and forth. I’ll keep pushing myself and do everything I can to finish this year as the world No. 1,” said Sabalenka, who was beaten by Swiatek in New York last season.

Sabalenka enjoyed success in the US with a run to the Indian Wells final, where she crashed to fellow big-hitter Elena Rybakina, another top Flushing Meadows contender despite recent health and fitness worries.

The trio have won five of the last six Grand Slams, sparking talk of a “Big Three” era in women’s tennis, but the game has churned out several other threats for the US Open crown in the last few weeks.

Marketa Vondrousova heads that list after the former Roland Garros runner-up broke her Grand Slam duck at Wimbledon, while Jessica Pegula and fellow American Coco Gauff are primed for deep runs after triumphs in Montreal and Cincinnati respectively.

“I believe in just giving it your all,” said former French Open runner-up Gauff, who beat Swiatek en route to winning her first WTA 1000 title.

“That’s all you can do. I’m going to give it my all in the US Open. If things go great, that’s exciting. If not, I go back and work hard and get ready for the next one. That’s the mentality you have to have.”

World No. 3 Pegula also raised US hopes of a first home-grown Flushing Meadows champion since Sloane Stephens in 2017 after she beat Swiatek during her run to the Montreal title.

Ons Jabeur will hope to overcome a foot problem as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam singles crown. The Tunisian trailblazer lost in the 2022 New York final and has been runner-up at Wimbledon the last two years.

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, twice a beaten finalist at Flushing Meadows, is one of those to be awarded wild cards for the tournament. The Dane returned to competitive tennis earlier in August after more than three years away to start a family. REUTERS