Fighting to stay No 1 - Sabalenka's US Open mission

Aryna Sabalenka stood at the peak of her powers after securing a rare Sunshine Double earlier this year.

By becoming only the fifth woman to claim the Indian Wells and Miami crowns consecutively, the Belarusian reinforced her status as the leading force on the WTA Tour and built a commanding 3,000-point advantage in the rankings.

Yet a challenging stretch soon arrived without warning, leaving the 28-year-old fighting to preserve her position ahead of the US Open, which begins on Sunday.

The two-time defending champion arrives in New York holding a 17-7 record since Miami, marked by a tough French Open quarter-final loss and a disappointing Wimbledon fourth-round exit.

Such results fall short of the four-time major winner's usual high standards.

With 2,000 points at stake in Flushing Meadows and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan now just 434 points behind, Sabalenka needs another title to prolong her 99-week reign at world number one.

When asked about her belief in rediscovering form on the hard courts where she has excelled, she replied: "Absolutely. These tough lessons are definitely going to make me way, way stronger and working even harder."

Sabalenka owns four Grand Slam singles titles - two Australian Opens and two US Opens, all on hard courts - more than most players achieve in a lifetime.

Still, she has also fallen in four major finals and six semi-finals, even as her reliability on the biggest stages remains unmatched by her rivals.

The recent worry has centered on Sabalenka losing mental sharpness in lower-pressure moments.

This showed clearly in her Cincinnati Open fourth-round loss to 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek. Sabalenka led 5-1 in the first-set tie-break and 4-1 in the second set, yet she struggled to maintain composure and fell 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

At the prior event in Toronto, she exited in the last 16 against world number 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova after her serve faltered.

During the clay swing, Sabalenka dropped leads after taking the first set against Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, Sorana Cirstea in Rome and, most notably, Diana Shnaider at Roland Garros.

"I work on my mental side of the game. I've been trying to reset my mind and to come back stronger," a confident Sabalenka stated in New York.

"It's only a matter of time for me to come back."

Who could take Sabalenka's crown?

The dip in Sabalenka's form has created an opening for Rybakina, who defeated the Belarusian to claim the Australian Open in January, to claim the top ranking.

Rybakina may not even need to win a match in New York to achieve that, given she defends fewer points than Sabalenka.

Questions remain over her fitness following an ankle injury picked up in the Cincinnati quarter-finals.

Rybakina can reach number one if her closest rivals - Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff - fail to win the title.

Should Sabalenka retain the crown, Rybakina would still climb to the summit by reaching the semi-finals.

Pegula, 32, has shown remarkable consistency across several seasons without a major title, yet the 2024 finalist believes her runs to the Washington and Cincinnati finals can launch another bid at her home Slam.

Gauff, who defeated Pegula for the Cincinnati title last week, already knows success in New York after her breakthrough major win there in 2023.

Twelve months ago the 22-year-old American's game carried uncertainty, but she returns with greater confidence and smoother serve motion.

Beyond the top four, the rest of the top 10 each hold either a Grand Slam or WTA 1,000 title, a group headed by French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova and six-time major champion Iga Swiatek.

"You can just see how the depth is pretty crazy," said Pegula.

Will someone take advantage of Sincaraz injury issues?

For the third successive Grand Slam, the rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has been paused.

The duo claimed all eight major titles across 2024 and 2025, with Alcaraz extending the streak by winning this year's Australian Open.

Yet the pair have not shared a Grand Slam draw since.

Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury and returns after a four-month lay-off in New York.

A day after the 23-year-old Spaniard confirmed his comeback plans, Sinner announced he was sidelined by a knee problem.

"It's kind of weird. We are not going see each other for, like, six months now, seven months," said Alcaraz.

Sinner's absence and doubts over Alcaraz's condition will energize the rest of the field, especially 39-year-old Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian great, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, says he has set no "expiry date" on his remarkable career. He keeps competing for titles while chasing a record 25th major win that would surpass Australia's Margaret Court on the all-time list.

He has reached at least the semi-finals in six of the past seven Slams but has not lifted the trophy since the 2023 US Open.

Germany's Alexander Zverev tops the seedings as he targets a third consecutive major final, having captured his first Slam at the French Open before falling to Sinner at Wimbledon.

Canadian Open champion Ben Shelton and Cincinnati finalist Frances Tiafoe head a strong American contingent, while 2024 finalist Taylor Fritz offers another chance to end a 23-year wait for a home men's champion.