The final Grand Slam of the season comes from Flushing Meadows and the women’s elite will be out to halt Aryna Sabalenka’s dominance as the world number one seeks a third straight US Open crown.
Having finished runner-up to Coco Gauff in 2023, Sabalenka has taken the last two US Open titles and has defeated two American aces in the final, seeing off Jessica Pegula in 2024 before the latest win over Amanda Anisimova.
The top seed is a four-time Grand Slam champion but has yet to add to her Major haul this season, having suffered defeat to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
Gauff, champion in 2023, arrives in confident spirits having won the Cincinnati Open while Iga Swiatek, who was US Open heroine in 2022, has a big chance based on her Canadian Open-winning form.
Naomi Osaka is a two-time champion in New York, taking the prize in 2018 and 2020, and has looked resurgent this year to offer hope to her backers.
Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova are this season’s three Grand Slam winners and they will hope to play their part again at Flushing Meadows, while it is dangerous to underestimate former runners-up Pegula and Anisimova on home soil.
2026 US Open WTA betting picks and predictions
Coco Gauff to win US Open (+450)
Sabalenka has been the player to beat on a hard court in women’s Majors, making seven straight finals on the surface and winning four of them, but there are signs that she is not in the same irresistible form.
The world number one has not won since being crowned champion in Miami in March, a lengthy period for someone of her ability, and she crashed out in the round of 16 in both Canada and Cincinnati.
Defeats to Ekaterina Alexandrova and Sara Bejlek in those two events show vulnerability and Gauff looks poised to capitalise.
The American is a former US Open champion, winning against Sabalenka in the 2023 final, and she won 12 of the 13 sets she contested to claim the title in Cincinnati last time out.
Gauff reached the Wimbledon semifinals last month to hint that she could be peaking for her home Grand Slam and with the hard work she has put in on her serve and forehand paying off, she could be the one they all have to beat as she chases down her third Grand Slam title success.
Naomi Osaka to win US Open (+1000)
The US Open, a tournament Osaka has won twice in 2018 and 2020, would have also been her top priority this season and there has been a steady look to her progression in recent months.
Having taken a brief break from the game, it has taken Osaka a while to put her best foot forward but she may be able to find the necessary level to strike in New York.
Osaka is still only 28 years of age and she reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July, getting the better of world number one Sabalenka in the grass-court major.
Her hard-court campaign started with a semifinal run in Washington and a quarterfinal effort at the Canadian Open, with this surface very much playing to her strengths.
All four of Osaka’s Grand Slam title wins have come on a hard court and she could have a decent draw to work with. She could meet Rybakina in round four but the second seed has been struggling with an ankle injury.
Elina Svitolina to win US Open (+4000)
If there is to be a surprise package at this season’s US Open then Elina Svitolina may be rewarded for being a model of consistency.
Svitolina is a former US Open semifinalist and made the last four at the Australian Open earlier in the campaign before a quarterfinal run at the French equivalent.
The 31-year-old has made two WTA 1000 finals this season, ruling in Rome, and the second quarter of the draw is the place to be as it looks the softest section.
Pegula and Karolina Muchova look the two biggest dangers before the semifinals and that gives the ultra-reliable Svitolina every chance of going deep.
The Ukrainian made the semifinal of the Canadian Open earlier this month, taking Swiatek to three sets following a win over Anisimova, and a repeat performance would put her right in the mix.
2026 US Open WTA outright odds
Aryna Sabalenka | +300 |
Coco Gauff | +450 |
Iga Swiatek | +500 |
Naomi Osaka | +1000 |
Jessica Pegula | +1100 |
Elena Rybakina | +1400 |
Mirra Andreeva | +1400 |
Amanda Anisimova | +1800 |
Marta Kostyuk | +2000 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
