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Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Elina Svitolina Under Rankings Pressure at US Open 2021

Published 08/29/2021, 1:30 AM EDT

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For the first time in tennis history, two women will campaign to defend their championships points at the US Open 2021. They are defending champion Naomi Osaka and 2019 winner Bianca Andreescu.

Last year, the ATP and WTA halted the dropped points policy to help low-ranked players amid the coronavirus outbreak. But now, as of August 2021, the system returned to normalcy, and players will start to drop both 2019 and 2020 ranking points.

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Consequently, Osaka and Andreescu have a lot at stake at this year’s American Slam. Besides the two, Elina Svitolina also has hefty rankings points to defend.

Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, Elina Svitolina: Points at stake at US Open 2021

The US Open is the fourth and final annual Grand Slam tournament in the tennis calendar. Hence, it offers the traditional 2000 ranking points to the winners. Accordingly, both Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu will defend their 2000 points.

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What’s interesting is that one of them is bound to drop points. Therefore, the fight for rankings points would be as tempting as defending the title.

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Furthermore, the 2019 US Open semifinalist Elina Svitolina did not participate in the last year’s event. Despite that, she has 720 rankings points at stake.

Recently, the Ukrainian collected her 16th WTA title at the Chicago Open and rose back to World No.5. Indeed, she would want to keep that spot.

But undeniably, the WTA squad is brimming with talent, and the draw seems strenuous than ever before. Naturally, it would be a mighty task for anyone to go all the way in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Watch this story: Serena Williams Stunning Outfits at US Open Over the Years

Osaka, Andreescu, and Svitolina’s US Open 2021 R1

As per the women’s draw, third seed Osaka will start against Czech professional Marie Bouzkova. Previously, the couple met in the opening round of Australian Open 2020, where Osaka defeated her in straight sets.

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Furthermore, Andreescu will face Swiss player Viktorija Golubic, while Svitolina will meet Canadian Rebecca Marino. They both will aim to build a foundation for a successful US Open campaign.

For tennis fans, the only wait is to see players come out and battle for the final hurray in 2021. Only time will tell who hails as the champion this year.

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Any predictions?

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Written by:

Purav Joshi

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Purav Joshi is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having a degree in Films, Television and Media Production, he guided his passion for writing and journalism into the sport of aces and rallies. With over 2 years of experience as a copywriter, Purav has authored over 500 tennis articles.
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