Bookmakers are split over whether she or champion Naomi Osaka deserve to be favourite for the US Open,but Barty’s mindset and flawless preparations may stand her in better stead. One player who won’t be there is six-time champion Serena Williams,whose torn hamstring has not completely healed.
“After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team,I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring,” Williams wrote in a statement on Instagram.
“New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favourite places to play - I’ll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone from afar.”
Williams is the latest big name to pull out of the tournament after reigning men’s champion Dominic Thiem andfour-time winner Rafa Nadal ended their 2021 season due to injuries.
Osaka’s stardom has proved a major burden for the four-time grand slam champion,who pulled out of her second round match at the French Open,skipped Wimbledon and bowed out in thethird round at her home Tokyo Olympics with an admission that she did not know how to cope with the pressure.
Barty,on the other hand,seems at peace with the huge expectations upon her since becoming the world No.1 andclaiming the French Open in 2019.
“It’s a bonus obviously that I was able to win Wimbledon,it’s a bonus now that I get to continue to do what I love,” she said on Sunday.
“And we just keep chipping away .... If that means more titles,that’s great. If it doesn’t,it doesn’t. That doesn’t matter for me.”
She will bid to become only the third Australian woman to win the US Open women’s singles title after Sam Stosur (2011) and Margaret Court (1962,1965,1969,1970,1973).
Loading
Winning would mean a grand slam trophy on all surfaces,a feat that would seem much further away for Osaka,who is yet to grab a title of any standing on clay or grass.
The New York crowds have yet to see Barty in the quarter-finals but can expect her to eclipse her previous fourth-round best in 2018-19.
Untroubled by injury and bringing a new aggression to her game,the Australian’s humbling of a parade of grand slam champions in Cincinnati suggests the Barty party should be in full swing deep into the second week at Flushing Meadows.
Reuters