The best players from the WTA Tour will come together once again for the 2021 US Open in Flushing Meadows.
Two-time US Open winner and defending champion Naomi Osaka will be off to defend her title despite coming into this year’s tournament in subpar form.
Meanwhile, there will be a couple of notable absentees from the women’s draw, with sisters Venus and Serena Williams both set to miss out due to injury.
Read on below as SBOTOP rounds up all of the biggest news stories surrounding the US Open women’s singles draw.
Naomi Osaka prepares for title defence
All eyes will be on Naomi Osaka as she looks to successfully defend her US Open title.
The world No. 3’s form has fallen significantly since winning the Australian Open in January. She made headlines for pulling out of the French Open, citing mental health concerns. She also missed Wimbledon and the grass-court season and crashed out early in the Olympics and the Cincinnati Masters.
But despite those recent setbacks, Osaka remains pleased with her current play ahead of the upcoming Grand Slam.
“I feel pretty happy with how I’m playing. I thought I played two really tough matches in Cincinnati,” Osaka said.
“Of course I’m not, like, declaring that I’ll do amazing here. For me, I’m the one-match-at-a-time like person.”
Even with her struggles, the US 2021 betting odds still have Osaka as one of the favourites to claim the title. The 23-year-old has a terrific record on hard-court Grand Slams. She’s 22-4 at the Australian Open and 21-3 at the US Open, winning both tournaments twice.
Osaka will face 23-year-old Czech Marie Bouzkova in her first-round matchup. Osaka won their only meeting to date in the first round of last year’s Australian Open, 6-2 6-4.
Serena Wiliams withdraws due to hamstring injury
Serena Williams made big US Open 2021 news a few days ago when she decided to withdraw from this year’s tournament due to a hamstring injury.
The 39-year-old announced on her Instagram page that she was advised to allow her body to heal from her hamstring injury, which she picked up during her first-round match at Wimbledon in June.
“After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring,” Williams wrote. “New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favorite places to play – I’ll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone on from afar.”
“Thank you for your continued support and love. I’ll see you soon.”
Williams, who lost to Osaka in the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open, is a six-time US Open winner, which is tied with Chris Evert for the Open Era record. She has a terrific record at Flushing Meadows, reaching at least the semi-finals in 11 straight tournaments she has taken part in. She lost in last year’s semi-final to Victoria Azarenka, who went on to lose to Osaka in the final.
Serena’s sister, Venus, also announced she would miss the US Open due to a leg injury. This will be just the second year since 1998 that neither William sister will be participating in Flushing Meadows.
Keys, Stephens clash in 2017 final rematch
The first round of the women’s single’s tournament will feature a rematch of the all-American 2017 final between Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens.
Stephens went on to win that final over Keys in straight sets, 6-3 6-0, to claim her only Grand Slam title to date. However, she has faced some mental and physical struggles in recent years, which have seen her drop to 66th in the world rankings.
Keys – a former top-five player – has also had her struggles, which is why both women are unseeded in this year’s tournament. Stephens holds the 4-2 edge in their career head-to-heads.
Meanwhile, another first-round matchup to watch out for is the one between No. 12 Simona Halep and Camila Giorgi.
Halep is finally back in action after missing the last two Grand Slams due to a calf injury. She lost in the first round to Danielle Rose Collins in the Canadian Masters and fell in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters to Jessica Pegula.
Giorgi, meanwhile, went on beat Pegula en route to claiming the Canadian Masters championship, the biggest of her career to date.
Halep won their only head-to-head meeting to date, which came in the 2015 Miami Masters.
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