WTA US Open: Final Grand Slam of the Year Kicks Off Sunday
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
Changes at the 2025 US Open
The WTA has been must-see TV in recent years with its compelling star players and the healthy balance of parity and unpredictability that makes the women's game great! For the 139th edition of the WTA US Open, there are a few changes that have been made:
- Record high prize pool of $90 million (up from $75 million last year)
- Video review system: all 17 courts will implement electronic line-calling and video review. This is up from eight courts last year.
- Expanding from 14 days to 15 days: the first time in the Open Era that the tournament starts on Sunday instead of Monday. This aligns with the schedule of both the French and Australian Open.
Along with these changes, there are also a plethora of storylines to watch out for in the final Grand Slam of the 2025 tennis season! Below are the topics that are sure to capture the headlines over the next two weeks.
Swiatek looking to join esteemed company
All eyes will be on Iga Swiatek in New York to see if she can continue her incredible run. The 24-year-old has been dominant and already has two Grand Slam titles to her name in the 2025 season (French Open and Wimbledon). She’ll be attempting to become only the eighth women’s player in history to win three Grand Slams in a single season since the start of the Open Era in 1968. The last one to achieve the feat was Serena Williams in 2015.
Swiatek proved that she is more than just the ‘Queen of Clay’ after her Wimbledon triumph back in July.
It marked the first grass court title of her career. Now, she’ll be looking to conquer the hard courts of Flushing Meadows once more. She was crowned champion of this event back in 2022 but has since failed to make it past the quarter-finals. Swiatek has posted solid results on hard courts in her career, though. In addition to the 2022 US Open win, she has also won seven hard court Masters 1000 events as well as the WTA Finals in 2023.
Sabalenka vs Swiatek - the dream final
As the two heavyweights of the WTA at the moment, number one ranked Aryna Sabalenka against number two ranked Iga Swiatek is the final that most tennis fans would want to see.
Sabalenka is the current defending champion after winning in straight sets against Jessica Pegula last year to capture her third career Grand Slam title. There hasn’t been a successful title defense in this event in over a decade, with Serena Williams in 2014 the last one to pull it off. Will Sabalenka be able to add her name to the list? If she is to, there’s a good chance her path will have to go through Swiatek.
The Pole leads the head-to-head with an 8-5 record, although it’s the Belarusian that holds the upper hand lately. Sabalenka has won the last two straight meetings – the quarter-final at Roland Garros this year and the semi-final in the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
Swiatek vs Sabalenka tale of the tape
| Iga Swiatek | Aryna Sabalenka | |
|---|---|---|
| Record vs | 8-5 | 5-8 |
| Career singles titles | 24 | 20 |
| Career Grand Slams | 6 | 3 |
| Singles W/L record | 391-87 (80.3%) | 466-198 (70.2%) |
| Current ranking | 2 | 1 |
For all of their matchups over the years, the two have never met in a Grand Slam final. Should they both make it to the final, it would certainly be a tough one to call. Sabalenka is at her best on hard courts, but Swiatek’s winning-mentality is elite with a perfect 6-0 record in Grand Slam finals.
Home-crowd favourite Coco Gauff leads the list of other contenders
It's no secret that the local crowds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be pulling for Atlanta native Coco Gauff. American players have a history of making deep runs at this event both in the ATP and the WTA and the energy generated by fans is always a factor to consider.
You need look no further than Gauff’s 2023 run to the championship when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win the US Open. Ahead of that final, Gauff was ranked sixth in the world while Sabalenka was (and still is) ranked number one.
Two years on, Gauff is now a two-time Grand Slam winner after once again defeating Sabalenka to claim the 2025 French Open title and is up to third in the rankings.
