Heraldo de Madrid - US Open women's singles: Three talking points

Second-ranked Elena Rybakina has been inching toward the top spot for weeks and will get there if she reaches the semi-finals, but the Kazakh's prospects are clouded by injury concerns.

Americans Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula could also pounce -- if either bag the title and Sabalenka and Rybakina both falter in Flushing Meadows.

Those closest in pursuit aren't the only players Sabalenka has to worry about as she tries to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2012-2014 to win three straight US Open titles.

Six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek thrust herself into the conversation with her first title of the season in Toronto, while Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala boosted her hard court credentials with a first career WTA title in Washington this month.

Here AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the tournament, which starts on Sunday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:

- Sabalenka three-peat bid -

Sabalenka began 2026 in strong style, lifting the trophy in Brisbane before she was stunned by Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

She avenged that defeat with a victory over the Kazakh in the final at Indian Wells and went on to complete the "Sunshine Double" with a triumph in Miami.

But Sabalenka hasn't reached a final since, her early exits including a quarter-final defeat at Roland Garros and a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon before fourth-round exits in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Sabalenka said in Cincinnati that the key to turning things around is to play with "no fear" and added that whatever her ranking and whatever her form she relishes being the woman to beat.

"I love having the target on my back," said Sabalenka, who will open her campaign against Camila Osorio in a quarter that also includes surprise Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.

- Rybakina injury fears -

Rybakina has been ramping up the pressure on Sabalenka, but the Kazakh star's US Open bid was thrown into doubt when she withdrew from her quarter-final in Cincinnati with an apparent Achilles tendon injury.

Rybakina pulled out of the US Open mixed doubles but practiced on Thursday at Flushing Meadows, where she was drawn to face American wild card Thea Frodin in the first round.

She could face eighth-seeded Swiatek in the quarter-finals, the two major winners headlining a tough quarter that also includes four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, former Australian Open winner Madison Keys and Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic.

- Resurgent Gauff, Swiatek -

Former champions Gauff and Swiatek arrive in New York on the backs of their first titles of 2026.

Fourth-seeded Gauff faces a potential quarter-final against fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, who won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros as Gauff's title defense there ended in the third round.

A year after her service struggles prompted a pre-tournament coaching change, the 22-year-old American's US Open campaign promises to be a less chaotic affair.

"Obviously, I feel it's night and day the player I am from last year to now," said Gauff, who also won the title in Cincinnati in 2023 -- when she went on to lift her first major trophy at the US Open.

Poland's Swiatek is also on the upswing. She hadn't even reached a final in 2026 until she triumphed in Toronto.

She then reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati, pushing her winning streak to 10 matches before falling to Pegula.

"We made some steps forward in this intensive part of the season," said Swiatek, who won the US Open in 2022.

O.Rivas--HdM