The Wimbledon champions have been crowned — now onward to the final major of the year. Our experts make early picks.
Two first-time Wimbledon champions were crowned over the weekend: Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to ever win, while Carlos Alcaraz upset seven-time Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic for the title. After an exciting two weeks, is it too early to look ahead to the next major?
No way. Our experts make their early predictions for the US Open:
Alexandra Stevenson: The winner is difficult to predict because the women’s side has been so wide open for awhile. Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open, Iga Swiatek won the French, and now Vondrousova won Wimbledon. Each one has a different style of play. If the US Open surfaces the courts with speed, definitely look for a big server.
Bill Connelly: Here are the top five players in terms of the percentage of hardcourt points won over the last year: Swiatek (55%), Vondrousova (54%), Jessica Pegula (53%), Liudmila Samsonova (53%, thanks mostly to a fall hot streak) and Sabalenka (53%). The winners of the last four Slams are in that group, and if we start there and add in the runners-up at the Australian Open (Rybakina) and last year’s US Open (Ons Jabeur), that gives us a pretty good contenders list. I’m going with the defending champ — Swiatek — but one figures that Sabalenka in particular could offer a pretty fierce challenge. She took Swiatek to three sets in the semis despite an iffy serve, and she won in Australia.
Tom Hamilton: It’s all about Sabalenka. Expect the usual suspects to go close — with Jabeur, Swiatek and Rybakina all there or thereabouts, while Elina Svitolina should make the final stages, but Sabalenka can make it a two-Slam year with a triumph in New York. She won the Australian Open and prevailed at Indian Wells, so she has the form. She’ll also feel aggrieved at the way that Wimbledon semifinal loss went against her, so expect Sabalenka to come through to win.
D’Arcy Maine: There is perhaps no one in tennis who wants a major title more than Jabeur and, she has come this close now three times. That’s not enough on its own to get her the elusive trophy, but I do think she will be hungrier than ever and knows what it takes to reach the final in New York. If she were able to replicate her success from 2022 and play in the title match, she won’t have difficulty finding inspiration. Chris Evert and Simona Halep both lost their first three major finals before winning on their fourth try, and Kim Clijsters, who consoled her on Saturday, lost her first four. This truly could be Jabeur’s time.
Alyssa Roenigk: Sabalenka was oh so close to making the Wimbledon final and claiming the No. 1 ranking from Swiatek, but she tightened up in the semis and was overpowered by Jabeur, who was a woman on a mission until the final. Sabalenka’s early-season hard-court performances were outstanding: She won the Australian Open and Indian Wells and could easily take a warmup title or two before New York. Maybe we’re treated to a Sabalenka-Swiatek or Sabalenka-Jabeur rematch late in the second week in New York. If we are, the Belarusian doesn’t lose this time.
Stevenson: The men’s winner will be a fight between Alcaraz and Djokovic — maybe throw in Daniil Medvedev. Check the surface of the court. Speed will be good for Alcaraz and Djokovic, and Medvedev will bring his usual calculating game.
