By Amy Tennery<\/p>\n
NEW YORK, Aug 28 (Reuters) \u2013 Major question marks hang over the top two seeds in the women\u2019s field when the U.S. Open main draw begins on Sunday, leaving the door open for past winners Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek to bring home another trophy from Flushing Meadows. <\/p>\n
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s dismal back half of the season has clouded her pursuit of a rare third successive U.S. Open title, while number two Elena Rybakina\u2019s exit from Cincinnati with a leg injury has cast her campaign into doubt.<\/p>\n
It has been a different story entirely for 2023 champion Gauff, who got her once-maligned serve working for her en route to the semis in Toronto and to her first title of the year with a confidence-inspiring performance in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
She will benefit, too, from the rowdy New York crowd, as a perennial American fan favourite.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoco Gauff played exceptional tennis in Cincinnati. She played well in Canada, as well. To me she\u2019s the one that\u2019s playing the best tennis,\u201d said ESPN commentator and former world number four Mary Joe Fernandez.<\/p>\n
Fourth-ranked Gauff and third-ranked Jessica Pegula will be playing for national pride with U.S. women failing to make the final at the first three majors this year.<\/p>\n
A \u2018BUMPY\u2019 JOURNEY FOR SWIATEK<\/p>\n
Poland\u2019s six-times major winner Swiatek arrives in New York with fresh fight in her, shaking off bitter criticism back home to win her first title of the season in Toronto earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Swiatek has not made it past the quarter-finals at any of the year\u2019s majors and had to fight her way back to top form in time for the North American hard court swing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journey has been bumpy this season,\u201d the eighth-ranked Swiatek told reporters after she swatted aside Rybakina to lift the trophy in Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I was impatient throughout the season. I was, like, seeking (a win) while maybe my game was not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
But while Swiatek\u2019s form is peaking at the best time, Sabalenka\u2019s has dipped at the worst, as she has failed to reach a final since completing the Sunshine Double this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe struggled a bit winning the big points. She\u2019s lost a couple big leads in some events,\u201d said Fernandez. \u201cShe\u2019s vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n
If she wins, she would become only the third woman in the Open Era to \u201cthree-peat\u201d at Flushing Meadows \u2013 and the first since Serena Williams claimed a trio of titles between 2012 and 2014 \u2013 as she closes in on 100 straight weeks atop the rankings.<\/p>\n
CONTENDERS LURK THROUGHOUT THE FIELD<\/p>\n
Other contenders include Russian teen Mirra Andreeva, who claimed her maiden major title at Roland Garros this year, and Czech Linda Noskova, who carved out her own slice of the spotlight with a breakthrough Wimbledon title last month.<\/p>\n
And the Philippines\u2019 Alexandra Eala made believers out of many when she beat four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and Pegula to win the WTA 500 title in D.C. this month. <\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Osaka, the U.S. Open winner in 2018 and 2020, can expect the usual adoration from the New York crowd, particularly after she recaptured some of her old brilliance to reach the semis last year following a 2023 layoff on maternity leave.<\/p>\n
She has not hoisted a title since collecting her fourth major at the 2021 Australian Open but some consistent recent form \u2013 including a spot in June\u2019s Bad Homburg final \u2013 has fans hoping for more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s wide open on the women\u2019s side,\u201d said ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe. \u201cBut there\u2019s probably six to eight players that could win it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. Open women\u2019s singles main draw begins on Sunday.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)<\/p>\n