Osaka and Ostapenko only faced each other once before, when both were teenagers. It was in the opening round of the 2016 French Open, when an unseeded 19-year-old Osaka beat No. 32 seed Ostapenko, 18, in straight sets (7-5, 6-4).

Despite not having the best show in the build-up to the final Grand Slam event of the year, Ostapenko could likely draw inspiration from her best show at the US Open last year, which was a run to the quarters, en route to which she beat then-defending champion Iga Swiatek. Osaka, too hasn’t had the best run in the two WTA 1000 hard-court events ahead of the US Open in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Gauff, who became the youngest American woman to win the singles crown in New York last year after beating Sabalenka, could be on collision course with the Belarusian, but in the semis. Gauff will open her campaign against France’s Varvara Gracheva, while Sabalenka, who heads into the tournament on the back of a title win in Cincinnati, will take on a qualifier in her opener.

Gauff could face No. 27 Elina Svitolina in the third round, fellow American Emma Navarro, who beat her at Wimbledon earlier last month, in the fourth and reigning Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova in the quarters. Sabalenka’s first big threat en route to a Gauff rematch is No. 29 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat her thrice in her career, in the third round, and one between No. 14 seed Madison Keys or No. 17 seed Ons Jabeur in the pre-quarters.

No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen, who won the gold medal in women’s singles at the Paris Olympics, will face American Amanda Anisimova, who has been on a comeback trail in 2024 after taking a mental health break last year in her opener, while No.5 seed Jasmine Paolini, who reach the both the finals in the last two Slams, will kick off her campaign against former champion Bianca Andreescu.

Top-seeded Iga Swiatek, who made a run to the semis in Cincinnati last week before losing to Sabalenka, will start against a qualifier and could face Meera Andreeva in the fourth round and one between Toronto winner and Cincinnati finalist Jessica Pegula or Danielle Collins in the quarters, before setting up a possibly clash against No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, who will be aiming to go past the third round in New York for the first time in her career, in the semis. The Kazakh starts against a qualifier and could face former Grand Slam winner Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and Paolini in the quarters.