Swiatek recharges for US Open defence with Sabalenka hot on her heels

Iga Swiatek has carried the torch as world number one with unmatched consistency on the women's tour for more than a year but the drained defending U.S. Open champion faces a major threat to her position with Aryna Sabalenka poised to pounce.

Swiatek has had a vice-like grip on top spot since inheriting it after Ash Barty's retirement in April 2022, but Australian Open champion Sabalenka has steadily chipped away at the deficit and can leapfrog her rival by winning in New York.

Swiatek has not been beaten before the quarter-finals of a tournament since January but the 22-year-old Pole appeared to be running out of steam ahead of the year's final Grand Slam.

"From my perspective, I would say my tank of fuel is pretty empty," she said after going out in the semi-finals at Montreal and Cincinnati.

"I'm not even going to regret a lot because I'm happy I'm going to have days off."

The French Open champion said she would try not to be hard on herself ahead of her U.S. Open title defence.

"I know from my experience that being a defending champion isn't easy," Swiatek said. "I'm going to take it easy on myself and just try to do everything step by step."

Despite needing to recharge and refocus, Swiatek will still be heavily backed to retain her crown and secure a fifth Grand Slam title overall but Belarusian Sabalenka underlined her own hardcourt credentials with her breakthrough win in Melbourne.

She followed that up by making the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, where she could have taken the number one ranking for the first time.

Sabalenka also enjoyed success in the U.S. earlier in the year with a run to the Indian Wells final where she crashed to fellow big-hitter Elena Rybakina, another top Flushing Meadows contender