Women's US Open Post-Draw Preview: 6/1 Badosa can topple vulnerable Gauff

• Sabalenka the player to beat

• Swiatek will do well to survive big hitters

• Oppose Gauff in third quarter

• Read Gavin's US Open Men's post-draw preview here

I don't think any of the top players will be sleeping easy having seen their potential route to the title.

The big four seeds Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina have their work cut out if they are to meet expectations.

Of this quartet I believe Cincinnati champion Sabalenka is the most secure, and certainly has the most convincing form heading into the final Grand Slam of the season.

Looking at each player's quarter is there value to be had in opposing this big four?

Tough match-ups for Swiatek in first quarter

2022 champion Swiatek leads the draw but there are a handful of names she will not look forward to seeing on the other side of the net as the tournament progresses.

The Polish star should be fine until the fourth round when she may encounter the prodigious 17 year old Mirra Andreeva or big hitter Liudmila Samsonova.

Andreeva won the first set and pushed Swiatek to 7/5 in the deciding set when they met in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. The young Russian showed a lack of decisiveness in that crucial end juncture of the contest, which the five time Grand Slam champion Swiatek gladly capitalised upon.

The youngster is learning with every match she plays, and is under the tutelage of highly regarded coach Conchita Martinez, and should she meet again with Swiatek you wouldn't be fully surprised if the versatile Andreeva has found the correct formula.

Samsonova on the other hand is an aggressive baseliner who should enjoy the medium-fast New York conditions. It is not impossible that the Russian can outgun Swiatek here.

Hurdle that and Swiatek is likely to encounter one of the American duo, Danielle Collins or Jessica Pegula, both of whom regularly defeat Swiatek in these conditions.

Collins is playing her final Grand Slam before retiring, and you would imagine she will be highly motivated to finish with a flourish. The Floridian is having the season of her career in which she won the prestigious Miami Open, and she typically plays her best on a quicker hard court.

Pegula is in red hot form, winning the 1000 level title in Toronto before a competitive defeat a week later to Sabalenka in the Cincinnati final. Her game is clearly in a good place and she has shown that on a quicker track she knows how to rattle Swiatek.

The conditions are always very important in the Pegula-Swiatek match-up, and with conditions expected to play on the speedier end of the scale - although not as slick as the lightening fast Cincinnati courts - Pegula should have a decent shot.

Those keen to take on Swiatek should consider backing either the 9/25.50 on Pegula or the 17/29.50 on Collins to win the first quarter.

Struggling Rybakina looks vulnerable

It has been a season to forget for Elena Rybakina. After starting the season strongly, the Kazakhstani has struggled with her health for much of the campaign, failing to make a convincing attack on any of the Grand Slams so far this season.

She did reach the Wimbledon semi-final but her fitness was unconvincing and once she ran into an opponent that could hang with her she was found out.

For my money when she's fit Rybakina is a leading candidate to win the biggest tournaments. However, she's barely played this summer and on the eve of the draw she separated from her long-term coach Stefano Vukov.

Altogether it feels like Rybakina might be vulnerable here. She has landed in a reasonably soft quarter but there are a handful of talents that would fancy their chances should they smell blood.

As early as the third round she might encounter two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki who is hanging about on tour to be a pest in these big tournaments. She has the experience and know-how to negotiate a Grand Slam draw, and that spells danger for Rybakina.

This is a quarter packed full of dangerous talent including my pre-draw long shot pick Leylah Fernandez. It is not an easy draw for the Canadian but if she can pick up a head of steam, she's very capable of going on a run.

There are a handful of other notable names here including recent champions Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu. Both are on the comeback trail following lengthy absences from the tour and have shown intermittent form since their returns.

I had hoped either of them would show a bit of form during recent events but neither has been near their best. They are capable of turning it on in the flick of a switch and in a potentially open quarter they represent jokers in the pack.

In-form Badosa can win third quarter

Defending champion Coco Gauff is the highest seed in the third quarter, but expectations are low on the out of form American.

Gauff has failed to have a decent run at a tournament since the French Open, and early hard court defeats this summer have shown that she is in a much different position heading into this year's US Open than last.

In 2023 Gauff was riding the crest of a wave after a successful US hard court swing and carried her momentum to a title run in New York. But this year, her game is simply not there.

It's not the toughest quarter, with high-profile players such as Barbora Krejcikova, Elina Svitolina, Emma Navarro, Maria Sakkari and Marta Kostyuk arguably doing their best work on other surfaces.

However, there is a stand-out name in this part of the draw and that is the very much in-form Paula Badosa.

The Spaniard has returned to form after an injury laden couple of seasons, winning the title in Washington and reaching the semi-final of Cincinnati.

Confidence is an important element for Badosa, who has a hybrid game that is equally measured in defence and attack. Her best work comes when she takes a front foot approach and she has been doing that of late.

This quarter is one that she should look at with hope and should she keep her head focused Badosa looks a decent bet to win quarter 3 and reach the Semi Finals at 6/17.00.

Sabalenka looks on course in bottom quarter

Of the top players it is Sabalenka who will be most content with her draw. It does contain some form players, but I expect the Belarusian to hurdle them.

At the time of writing potential third round opponent Ekaterina Alexandrova is still to play her semi-final match in Monterrey. The highest ranked potential fourth round opposition, Madison Keys or Ons Jabeur, have been plagued by injuries of late. Keys retired in the first round of Cincinnati in her first match since she incurred her injury at Wimbledon, and Jabeur has withdrawn since the draw was made.

In the next couple of rounds it is difficult to imagine Daria Kasatkina as having the tools to take down Sabalenka, while Donna Vekic appears to have run out of steam following an impressive effort at Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Gold medal winner Qinwen Zheng is scheduled to be Sabalenka's quarter-final opponent but the Chinese player flopped out of Cincinnati early, and flew back to China for a medal presentation alongside other Chinese athletes, which does not feel like the best preparation for this event.

Sabalenka is a skinny 4/61.67 to win this quarter but it seems quite likely to happen.

Now read more US Open Tennis previews and tips here.