2026 Women’s Hard-Court Power Rankings: Sabalenka Leads US Open Board

The US Open is here, and our latest women’s hard-court power rankings reflect who we believe is best positioned to make a deep run in New York.

Aryna Sabalenka remains No. 1, but Iga Swiatek has climbed to No. 2 after another strong summer stretch.

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina round out the Top 5, while the full board now ranks 50 players across four tiers based on current form, hard-court results and championship upside.

Read on for our 2026 women’s hard-court power rankings.

This article is part of our ongoing 2026 US Open coverage.

 

How We Compiled Our Rankings

These rankings are not based solely on WTA rankings. They reflect who we believe is most likely to succeed on hard courts right now.

We consider:

• Projected success during the hard-court swing
• Recent hard-court results
• Career hard-court record
• Grand Slam and WTA 1000 success
• Wins against Top 20 and Top 50 opponents
• Current form and momentum
• Serve and return effectiveness
• Championship experience and big-match performance

We’ve also made one major change this week.

Instead of placing 28 players into one large Deep-Run Threat tier, we’ve split them into Tier 3 and Tier 4.

Not every dangerous player presents the same level of threat, and our rankings should reflect that.

Tier 1: Championship Favorites

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek
3. Coco Gauff
4. Jessica Pegula
5. Elena Rybakina
6. Madison Keys
7. Naomi Osaka
8. Mirra Andreeva
9. Alexandra Eala
10. Amanda Anisimova

Sabalenka remains No. 1, while Swiatek climbs to No. 2 after another strong hard-court stretch. Gauff and Pegula round out the top four.

Rybakina slips to No. 5, while Anisimova stays inside Tier 1 at No. 10. Elina Svitolina drops out of the championship-favorite group this week.

Tier 2: Title Contenders

Good enough to win a major hard-court tournament if the draw opens up and they find their best tennis.

11. Liudmila Samsonova
12. Iva Jovic
13. Linda Noskova
14. Belinda Bencic
15. Marta Kostyuk
16. Anna Kalinskaya
17. Clara Tauson
18. Emma Navarro
19. Diana Shnaider
20. Ekaterina Alexandrova
21. Leylah Fernandez

This group remains loaded with players capable of making a serious second-week run at the US Open.

There is not much separating the middle of this tier, and one big week could easily push several of these players into the championship-favorite conversation.

Tier 3: Deep-Run Threats

These players have a legitimate path to the quarterfinals, semifinals, or better if they find the right matchup and sustain their level.

22. Qinwen Zheng
23. Elise Mertens
24. Barbora Krejcikova
25. Jelena Ostapenko
26. Katerina Siniakova
27. Maria Sakkari
28. Jaqueline Cristian
29. Anastasia Potapova
30. Donna Vekic
31. McCartney Kessler
32. Tereza Valentova
33. Dayana Yastremska
34. Jasmine Paolini
35. Peyton Stearns
36. Daria Kasatkina

This remains one of the deepest groups on the board.

There are former Grand Slam champions, established veterans, and rising players throughout the tier. None would be a major surprise in the second week of the US Open.

Tier 4: Dangerous Outsiders

Players capable of beating higher-ranked opponents, ruining a seed’s tournament, or putting together a surprise run.

37. Ashlyn Krueger
38. Magda Linette
39. Sorana Cirstea
40. Lilli Tagger
41. Maja Chwalinska
42. Ann Li
43. Nikola Bartunkova
44. Zeynep Sonmez
45. Kimberly Birrell
46. Karolina Pliskova
47. Caty McNally
48. Alycia Parks
49. Maya Joint
50. Alina Korneeva

This is where the board gets dangerous.

These players may not enter the US Open among the leading contenders, but there is enough talent here to wreck a section of the draw and send a seeded player home early.