Aug. 31, 2026, 7:03 a.m. ET
NEW YORK — If there is any solace that can be taken by Jannik Sinner from missing the US Open with a knee injury, it is that no matter what happens and who takes the trophy in New York, his No. 1 ranking on the ATP Tour is safe and secure. That is a result of Sinner, a five-time Grand Slam champion, winning the Australian Open in January and dominating in the spring, becoming the first player to win five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles — in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid. The same kind of security can’t be said on the women’s side, where as many as eight others can oust Aryna Sabalenka from the top of the WTA rankings with a strong showing at the US Open.
Sabalenka hasn’t won a major this year, but she did win titles in Miami, Indian Wells, and Brisbane, Australia, while No. 2 Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open, beating Sabalenka in the final. Rybakina enters this tournament with a leg injury she sustained in Cincinnati two weeks ago but says she is healthy enough to compete and isn’t paying too much attention to her ranking. “I don’t check the ranking exactly, the point situation, but from media, mostly I know where I should get, how the others should play. It’s all the different scenarios,” Rybakina said. “Of course, it’s a Grand Slam, and you want to do well. But you have plenty of opportunities after if you’re healthy and you keep on playing.
I’m trying not to think about it at all and just play one match at a time.”
Sabalenka has held the No. 1 ranking since Oct. 21, 2024, and by the tournament’s end will have held the top spot for 99 straight weeks. She is also the two-time defending champion in New York and is trying to make history by becoming the third woman — after Serena Williams (2012-2014) and Chris Evert (1975-78) — to win three straight US Opens in the Open Era (since 1968). “Well, I will focus on myself. I’ll try to do my very best, and we’ll see what happens with the end of this tournament,” Sabalenka said. “So if I would be able to put my name slightly next to them, that means a lot to me.”
It’s gotten to the point where there is no overwhelming favorite in the women’s game at this time, as each of the top nine players in the current WTA rankings has won either a Grand Slam or a Masters 1000 title in 2026, accounting for 10 of those 11 tournaments thus far.
Marta Kostyuk, who won the other Masters 1000 in Madrid, is ranked 11th. The parity hasn’t watered down the competition but has heightened the belief that anyone can win a major, as each of the last seven Grand Slam tournaments has produced seven different champions. “I think looking at the points for just the year is pretty crazy to see the top 10, the top girls for the year-end Finals. It’s really close,” said Jessica Pegula, who is the No.
3 seed at the US Open. “Especially just comparatively looking at the men, just the number of points.
I know maybe we have a couple more 1000s than they do. But looking at the difference between the points of people in the top 10 to the men, you can just see how the depth is pretty crazy.”
The race for No.
1 Sabalenka keeps the No. 1 ranking if she wins the US Open title, but Rybakina must lose before the semifinals. Rybakina will be the new No. 1 by reaching the US Open semifinals, no matter what any other player does.
Rybankina can also reach No. 1 before the semifinals but only if Sabalenka, Pegula and Coco Gauff lose by then. Sabalenka, Pegula, and Gauff can all get to the No.
1 ranking after the US Open but must win the tournament to do so. Pegula and Gauff can also ascend to the top of the rankings with a victorious run in New York if Rybakina does not reach the semifinals.
