The 2025 US Open reshaped the WTA landscape while confirming a familiar hierarchy at the very top. Aryna Sabalenka extended her hold on world No 1 by reaching a third straight final at Flushing Meadows and will keep a healthy lead after the tournament. The live rankings show Sabalenka on 11,225 points, with Iga Swiatek second on 7,933 and Coco Gauff third on 7,874.

Sabalenka is 2,592 points clear of Swiatek in the live rankings. If she defends her crown she will retain the same 3,292-point lead over Swiatek that she started the event with.

Swiatek had an opening opportunity to gain on Sabalenka, having been a quarter-finalist at last year’s US Open, but she was beaten by Amanda Anisimova at the last eight stage this time. Anisimova’s run to her second straight major final, following Wimbledon, lifts her five places to a new career-high of world No 4. The rankings list also places Jessica Pegula, who reached the semi-finals, on course to drop from fourth to seventh having been runner-up last year.

Several other movements followed the results in New York. Mirra Andreeva remains fifth after a third round exit, while Madison Keys stays sixth after an opening-round loss. Jasmine Paolini remains at No 8 after a third round defeat. Zheng Qinwen, who missed the event through injury, will fall from seventh to ninth. Elena Rybakina’s run to the last 16 keeps her at No 10.

Notable climbs include Naomi Osaka, who rose from 24th to 14th after reaching the semi-finals — her highest ranking since returning to tennis after the birth of her daughter. Marketa Vondrousova moved from 60th to 36th after reaching the quarter-finals, and Barbora Krejcikova jumped from 62nd to 40th for making the last eight. Cristina Bucsa rose from 95th to 61st after advancing to the fourth round. Other significant shifts included Taylor Townsend (139th to 111th) and Emma Navarro (11th to 18th) following her third round defeat.

Rick Macci has weighed in on whether Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are operating at a level comparable to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in their primes. Macci, who has coached five players who became world No 1, argues the current duo belong in that conversation.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner and Alcaraz have emerged as the Tour’s dominant forces, meeting in the finals at Cincinnati, Wimbledon, the French Open and the Italian Open. They have also taken seven of the last seven Grand Slam titles between them, with Sinner winning four and Alcaraz three. Alcaraz has not lost to anyone other than Sinner since his April defeat to Holger Rune in Barcelona, and Sinner’s only loss to a non-Alcaraz opponent since August 2024 came against Alexander Bublik in Halle.

Asked whether the two young stars measure up to the peak of the sport’s greats, Macci did not hesitate: “Absolutely, I think you could even put [Pete] Sampras in there,” said Macci, who has coached five players who became world No 1.

“You know, I would put Sinner and Alcaraz, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Sampras… I think, all things being equal – technology, rackets, the string. Absolutely.

“Here’s why: tennis is a game of inches from one era to another and the mental part, playing the big points, delivering the goods and getting your serve in on an AD-point.

“These are microscopic things that happen in a tennis match and I’m just a firm believer of their technical base and their movement base – the guys I just mentioned – was so good and their athletic base was so good. But mentally, they were a cut above, that’s why they won all those Grand Slams.

“So yeah, that would be a street fight like no other if you had all those guys in. Now when you start throwing… you go back farther and you start talking about players, it’s hard for me to even go there because they hit the ball very differently. Whether it be [Jimmy] Connors, [John] McEnroe, [Bjorn] Borg — you can’t even go down that.

“I could maybe even throw [Andre] Agassi into this mix, you never know. But I wouldn’t go too far back. But 100%, because they have it between the ears, champions know how to deliver at crunch time.”

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer remain the three men with the most Grand Slam titles in history, on 24, 22 and 20 respectively. Alcaraz has five majors and Sinner four.

Amanda Anisimova turned her semi-final victory over Naomi Osaka into a forward-looking message ahead of the 2025 US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka. The world No 9 prevailed 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 6-3 in a contest that lasted just under three hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In a match billed as a clash between two of the tour’s finest ball strikers, Anisimova secured the only break of the deciding set to move 3-1 ahead and later saved two break points while serving for the match. The win sends her to a maiden US Open final and represents a second straight Grand Slam championship match after her 0-6, 0-6 defeat to Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.

Her opponent will be world No 1 and three-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka. The two have a competitive recent history: Anisimova beat Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a Wimbledon semi-final in July and holds a 6-3 head-to-head record against the Belarusian.

Asked in her post-match press conference what it says about her to reach another major final so soon after the Wimbledon loss, Anisimova said: “I think it just shows that I have worked really hard, especially on my mental game and not giving up.”

She elaborated on the mentality that carried her through the match with Osaka: “Like today, I could have easily said, ‘oh, she’s playing better than me, and I can’t really do anything’. I really tried to find any way I could to stay in the match, even though it was extremely tough, and she was playing really great tennis.

“I think I have really worked on myself to really be able to handle those moments and to believe in myself, even when it feels like what is there to believe in, when you’re not playing that well.

“I think I have really done a better job of that, and especially since the Wimbledon final. I think I have really shifted with my attitude as well.”

On facing Sabalenka next, Anisimova added: “Yeah, I’m super excited, to be in the US Open final is really special and just gonna try and do all the right things and really prepare to be in the best possible mindset and physically.

“But yeah, I’m really looking forward to it and I think it’s a great opportunity.

“Yeah, I mean it’s the number one player in the world and she’s playing amazing tennis. It’s gonna be a really tough match and a battle. Yeah, I’m excited. Every single time we’ve played it’s been great.”

She reflected on their past matches: “Yeah, we’ve had very tough matches.

“A lot of them have actually been in Grand Slams, too. Especially early on in my career, but I think the standout one was probably Wimbledon.

“It was really a seesaw match, which is almost always the case when I play her. But yeah, I think that was the most special one for me.”