The US Open starts Sunday with Jannik Sinner absent and the men's and women's draws wide open. Carlos Alcaraz returns as defending champion, looking to repeat after his run last year. He's the favorite, but the door is there for someone else to push through.
Aryna Sabalenka holds the No.1 ranking heading in, but that spot is not locked down. The race tightens at the top, and how she performs this week matters. Every match counts when rankings are this compressed.
Sinner's absence changes the math on the men's side. He's been playing the best tennis on tour, so losing him opens the draw for Alcaraz and others. The defending champ won't have to thread through him en route to the final.
On the women's side, Sabalenka carries pressure. Defending a ranking at a Grand Slam is different than defending a title. One bad match derails everything. The field knows this too.
Experts are already eyeing the depth. Younger players are knocking. Seeding is only seeding. The story of these two weeks will be written by who shows up ready and who folds when the pressure peaks.