The US Open is about to start and never before have all the tennis players been true candidates for the final victory: from the number one Iga Swiatek to the winner of the Wimbledon title, Elena Rybakina, through Ons Jabeur and Anett Kontaveit, eager to obtain his first title at Slam level.
However, to achieve ultimate success, there are several hurdles to be overcome, with a draw offering a spectacle from the early rounds. Up front is number one seed Swiatek, who will face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the first round.
The first adversities come from the round of 16: the probable rival is Ostapenko, while in the quarterfinals there is the tennis player of the moment and host Jessica Pegula. Also in the Swiatek zone is another Italian, Lucia Bronzetti, who faces Lauren Davis in the first match of the tournament.
In the same part of the table is also the defending champion, Emma Raducanu: a very difficult debut against Alize Cornet and a hypothetical third round against another very difficult opponent like Danielle Collins. However, in the round of 16 she would face the leader of the scoreboard, Aryna Sabalenka.
Serena Williams is the most anticipated player of this tournament: the former world number one will play her last matches at Flushing Meadows. The Slam champion has been framed at the bottom of the table: in the first round she will face Danka Kovinic.
However, the first difficulties arise already in the second step, where she could wait for the tournament’s number two seed, Anett Kontaveit. In the quarterfinals she could be waiting for an Italian, Martina Trevisan. Not only Trevisan, but Camila Giorgi is also present at the bottom of the tournament.
Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles
In a video on Tennis Channel, John Isner stated that while the sport will sorely miss Serena Williams’ presence, her popularity will not go down post-retirement. “I think tennis is going to miss Serena’s presence sorely.
But the good thing about Serena I think is she will always be around. She’s an incredible athlete and will be every bit as popular when she’s done with tennis as she ever was when she was playing,” he said. “She’s sort of in that rarefied air like a Michael Jordan or like a Wayne Gretzky and Roger Federer where she’s just sort of transcends the sport a bit. She will be missed. Fans, colleagues and everyone alike will miss watching her compete,” he said.
