US Open: Gauff, Keys and Anisimova together in bottom half; Sabalenka faces a tough road to semis

New York, Aug 22 (IANS) American women have performed superbly in recent months and and three of their top stars -- Coco Gauff (No. 3), Madison Keys (No. 6) and Amanda Anisimova (No. 8) -- have been placed in the same half of the 2025 US Open women’s singles main draw, which was revealed on Thursday.

All three of the players are in the top 10 in WTA Rankings and will be the main threats in the bottom half, while compatriots Jessica Pegula (No. 4) and Emma Navarro (No. 10) will join defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the top half.

Considering that there have been no repeat titlists in Grand Slams this season so far, the US Open winner could be anyone in the top 10. But one trend has remained consistent -- an American woman has competed in the past four consecutive Grand Slam finals.

Madison Keys started the trend in 2025 with a victory over Sabalenka in the Australian Open, while Gauff stopped Sabalenka in the Roland Garros final. As Sabalenka looks to defend her US Open title, it is a possibility that she may run into an American player in the last Grand Slam singles title of the year.

Last year, Sabalenka overcame Pegula to win her first US Open singles title, making her the first woman to claim both hard-court majors in a single season since 2016. The two could play a round earlier in New York this year, as No. 1 seed Sabalenka and Pegula have landed in the top half of the draw.

However, their path to the semis clash is quite tricky. Sabalenka will open against Switzerland's Rebeka Masarova, while Pegula starts against Egyptian Mayar Sherif. Sabalenka's first seeded match-up could come in the third round against No. 31 Leylah Fernandez, while Pegula could meet No. 30 Dayana Yastremska in the third round.

On the way to a potential semifinal, Sabalenka could also face recent Cincinnati runner-up and No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini, and Pegula could run into Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, who has made it through to the quarters in both Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year.

The 2023 US Open champion will be on a hunt to reclaim the title here. She started this year strong, with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, followed by her Roland Garros championship. She'll begin her 2025 campaign in Flushing with a first-round matchup with Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams here in the American's final career match in 2022. Gauff also enters the tournament with a new coach, biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan, after parting ways with Matthew Daly just days before the tournament, and figures to come here especially determined, given her first-round exit at Wimbledon. Her best showing this summer has been a run to the quarters at Cincinnati.

Venus Williams back in the fray

After a hiatus last year, Venus Williams is returning to Flushing Meadows in her first Grand Slam singles appearance since the 2023 US Open. Venus is no stranger to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, playing in 24 of the past 27 US Open tournaments, and taking the women’s singles crown in 2000 and 2001.

She’s already gotten some practice on the blue courts, having competed in the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship with Reilly Opelka. A singles advance will take some doing, as having entered the tournament as a wild card, Williams will face No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova in the first round.

--IANS

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