RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Sep 6, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Aryna Sabalenka hits a backhand against Amanda Anisimova (USA) (not pictured) in the women's singles final of the 2025 US Open tennis championships at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imag… | Source: Lastwordonsports.com - Jim Smith
With the last Grand Slam of the season right around the corner, five Last Word on Tennis writers—Amanda Bergman, Coby Spratte, Ilemona Onekutu, Shane Black, and Zain Mustafa—make their US Open predictions in three key categories on the women’s side. Let’s dive in.
2026 US Open Women’s Singles Roundtable Predictions
Champion: Who will win the US Open?
Amanda: (4) Coco Gauff [USA]
This year, the depth on the WTA Tour has felt limitless, with the top 11 players in the world all holding a big title. The US Open title is certainly up for grabs, along with the World No. 1 ranking, and no one is better poised to take it than Coco Gauff. Despite winning her first title of the season just last week in Cincinnati, there’s been plenty of buildup for Gauff with three great tournaments in a row, including Wimbledon, where she was one point away from the final. Gauff is playing extremely well heading into the US Open, where she’s a former champion, and most importantly, she’s finding her stride on serve. Last time Gauff won Cincinnati, she went on to win the US Open, and her Cincinnati run this year was just as dominant as in 2023.
Coby: (3) Jessica Pegula [USA]
I think this might be the best chance for the 32-year-old to finally win a Grand Slam. She’s coming off a finals appearance in Cincinnati, which propelled her to match her career-best ranking of #3 in the world. Playing in her home state of New York, with #1 Aryna Sabalenka searching for form and #2 Elena Rybakina remaining steady but beatable, I think the time is right for Pegula to finally break through.
Ilemona: (4) Coco Gauff [USA]
The 2023 champion is back on home soil and playing with a purpose we haven’t seen since that magical fortnight three years ago. Gauff made her first Wimbledon semifinal this summer, a breakthrough that proved she can compete with the very best on grass. Even though she hasn’t won a title in 2026, she’s been knocking on the door all year – Miami final, Rome final, and her biggest title of the season at the Cincinnati Open to tie off her preparation. The American crowd will be behind her from the first round to the last, and at 22, she knows exactly what it takes to go the distance in Flushing Meadows because she’s done it before.
What has impressed me most about Gauff’s 2026 season is the improvement in her forehand. It used to be a target for opponents, a shot they could exploit to force errors; now it’s a genuine weapon that she uses to dictate rallies rather than just defend. Her serve has become more reliable too, and her speed around the court remains elite. The women’s game is more open than ever, but Gauff has the experience of having won this tournament, the physical tools to outlast anyone in the heat, and the emotional maturity to handle the New York spotlight. I think she puts it all together for her second US Open title.
Shane: (1) Aryna Sabalenka
Another Grand Slam, another wide-open women’s draw. The beauty of women’s tennis in the 2020s is that we’ve had 13 different Grand Slam champions across 26 tournaments. However, it makes it difficult to project a winner. I was going to pick against the favorite, Aryna Sabalenka; I really was. But the top half of the draw is much more open than the bottom half. Sabalenka is the best women’s hardcourt player in the world, outside of maybe Elena Rybakina. Although she struggled in Toronto and Cincinnati, I believe that has only motivated Sabalenka to bring her A-game to New York. If the back-to-back champ can get past Barbora Krejcikova in the Round of 32, the draw sets up nicely for her to cruise into the final Saturday.
Zain: (8) Iga Swiatek [POL]
The answer to this question had been the easiest thing for me in women’s tennis over the last two years. But this year, Sabalenka just hasn’t been the same player since the French Open. Coco Gauff, on the back of her Cincinnati win, would not be surprising at all, but I’m slightly leaning towards Iga Swiatek here. The 2022 champion has looked more like the player who was World No. 1 during the hard-court summer so far. If she capitalises on that momentum and plays her suffocating baseline tennis, a seventh Major title should be on the cards at the US Open.
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Dark Horse: Which player outside the Top 8 seeds will advance furthest?
Amanda: (14) Iva Jovic [USA]
Seeded at the US Open for the first time in her career, 18-year-old Iva Jovic has what it takes to go far at her home Grand Slam. Jovic’s breakthrough at this level came at the Australian Open this year, where she made the quarterfinals, and she backed it up with a third-round showing at the French Open and a fourth-round run at Wimbledon. While Jovic didn’t post strong results in Toronto or Cincinnati, her improvement throughout the year is undeniable. Jovic has found her stride at the Grand Slam level, and no reason it can’t carry over to the US Open.
Coby: (28) Sara Bejlek [CZE]
I have to ride with the hot hand here. The 20-year-old from Czechia just made waves in Cincinnati, reaching the semifinals and upsetting Sabalenka — one of four top-25 wins during the run. She’s arguably in the best form of her career, even after already raising a trophy at a WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi this past January. I believe she has a couple more upsets left in her.
Ilemona: (28) Sara Bejlek [CZE]
Bejlek just took out Sabalenka in Cincinnati, which tells you everything you need to know about her ceiling. The 20-year-old Czech is a former junior champion who is starting to translate that success to the main tour in a way that many junior stars never manage. She hits a heavy ball from the baseline, takes the ball early, and ...
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