Aryna Sabalenka ended her US Open preparations ideally by winning the Cincinnati Open. She overcame Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-5 , denying the American a 10th consecutive victory. Although there are many worthy women’s singles contenders for the US Open, Sabalenka has established herself as the favorite heading into the final Grand Slam of the year.
This article outlines four reasons why that is the case. Four Reasons Why Aryna Sabalenka is the US Open Favourite 1. Sabalenka’s Decision to Play a Full North American Hard Court Season Sabalenka was one of several WTA players who withdrew from the Olympics , held on clay at Roland-Garros.
2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina could not play due to an illness, but world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and the US Open champion Coco Gauff were among the players who did compete in Paris. Sabalenka, worried about repeatedly changing surfaces, elected to skip the Olympics.
Instead, the Belarusian competed at the Citi DC Open the same week as the Olympics. Sabalenka was nowhere close to her best during that tournament or the following week’s National Bank Open. However, getting that match practice helped her thrive in Cincinnati.
The players who competed at the Olympics did not get the luxury of being able to settle into the North American hard court season. There is also a risk of those players suffering burnout or physical issues moving from clay to hard courts. 2.
Sabalenka’s Incredible Level at the Cincinnati Open The previous section mentioned.