US Open 2026 Women’s Singles Entry List and Withdrawals

The countdown to the final Grand Slam of the year is almost over. The 2026 US Open runs from Sunday, August 23 through Sunday, September 13, with Fan Week building anticipation before the main draw singles matches begin on Sunday, August 30. As the tournament approaches, the official entry list has continued to shift, with several notable withdrawals and a handful of lucky alternates now locked into the main draw. Here’s a fully updated look at who’s in, who’s out, and what it means for the women’s singles field at Flushing Meadows.

The Superstars at the Top of the Draw

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka once again headlines the women’s entry list. She arrives in New York as the two-time defending champion, having beaten Amanda Anisimova in last year’s final to become the first woman since Serena Williams (2012–2014) to win back-to-back US Open titles. A win this year would make her the first woman in over a decade to capture three consecutive US Open crowns, matching a feat only Serena has managed in the Open Era’s more recent history.

Right behind her sits Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina at No. 2, followed by American star Jessica Pegula at No. 3, who remains the highest-ranked American across either draw. Coco Gauff holds the No. 4 spot, with rising Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva rounding out the top five as a “Neutral” entrant, competing without national representation under current tour rules for Russian and Belarusian players.

Further down the seedings, major champions continue to give the draw plenty of firepower: Poland’s Iga Swiatek sits at No. 8, and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan enters at No. 13, having moved up two spots after another player’s withdrawal shifted the numbering slightly (notice the list skips directly from No. 11 to No. 13).

Strong American Contingent, Even After Some Late Changes

American tennis fans still have plenty to cheer for. The host nation’s women are once again led by Jessica Pegula (No. 3), 2023 champion Coco Gauff (No. 4), and 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova (No. 9), all of whom have proven they can go deep in New York in recent years.

Depth remains a strength for the Americans throughout the rankings. Iva Jovic sits at No. 16, Madison Keys at No. 23, Emma Navarro at No. 27, and Ann Li at No. 32. Further down the list, names like McCartney Kessler (No. 46), Caty McNally (No. 53), Peyton Stearns (No. 58), Ashlyn Krueger (No. 66), Alycia Parks (No. 67), Taylor Townsend (No. 83), and Katie Volynets (No. 95) give American fans a deep bench of homegrown talent to follow throughout the fortnight.

Notable Withdrawals Since the Entry List Was First Released

The entry list was originally built from the WTA rankings for the week of July 20, 2026. Since then, a mix of players missing the list entirely and players withdrawing afterward has reshaped who actually gets a direct spot in the main draw. Here’s the full picture of who’s out and who moved in as a result.

Players not included on the entry list at all, despite their ranking at the time, were Victoria Mboko (No. 12), Hailey Baptiste (No. 34), and Varvara Gracheva (No. 99) — which is why those three ranking spots don’t appear anywhere on the official list. Their places were filled by Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Protected Ranking 100), Kaitlin Quevedo (No. 101), and Anastasia Zakharova (No. 102), respectively.

Players who withdrew from the entry list after it was published include several bigger names:

• Ajla Tomljanovic (No. 94) → replaced by Ella Seidel (No. 103)
• Irina-Camelia Begu (Protected Ranking 82) → replaced by Elsa Jacquemot (No. 104)
• Emma Raducanu (No. 37) → replaced by Anna Blinkova (No. 105)
• Jaqueline Cristian (No. 41) → replaced by Darja Vidmanova (No. 106)
• Laura Siegemund (No. 89) → replaced by Nadia Podoroska (Protected Ranking 106)
• Jil Teichmann (Protected Ranking 89) → replaced by Julia Grabher (No. 107)

In other words, six confirmed entrants — including British star Emma Raducanu and two of the original special-ranking entrants, Begu and Teichmann — are now out of the 2026 field, while six alternates have been promoted directly into the main draw as a result. Britain’s Sonay Kartal (No. 122) had also already withdrawn back in late July, though she was outside the direct-entry cutoff and did not need to be replaced from the main alternate list in the same way.

Special Rankings: A Shifting Picture

Special or protected rankings allow players returning from long injury layoffs or medical leave to enter the main draw directly, without having to fight through qualifying. When the entry list was first published, five women were set to use this pathway:

• Lois Boisson of France (Special Rank No. 38)
• Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania (Special Rank No. 82)
• Aoi Ito of Japan (Special Rank No. 87)
• Jil Teichmann of Switzerland (Special Rank No. 89)
• Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand (Special Rank No. 100)

That picture has since changed. Both Irina-Camelia Begu (withdrawn August 3) and Jil Teichmann (withdrawn August 19) are no longer part of the field, leaving Boisson, Ito, and Sawangkaew as the three special-ranking entrants who remain in the draw. Their exits, like the other late withdrawals, opened further slots for players moving up from the alternate list.

Young Stars and the Changing Guard

The 2026 entry list still highlights a clear generational shift in women’s tennis. Mirra Andreeva (No. 5), Linda Noskova (No. 7), Iva Jovic (No. 16), and Diana Shnaider (No. 18, also competing as a Neutral athlete) have all built serious momentum over the past year and now sit inside seeded territory heading into Flushing Meadows.

A little further back, players like Alexandra Eala of the Philippines (No. 29), Sara Bejlek (No. 40), Nikola Bartunkova (No. 44), Petra Marcinko (No. 49), and Antonia Ruzic (No. 50) show just how deep the sport’s next generation runs. Eala in particular has become one of the more closely watched names on tour, and a strong run in New York could push her rapidly up the rankings.

The Alternate List: Who’s Waiting for a Call-Up

Even with several players already having moved into the main draw, the alternate list remains stacked with quality. Germany’s Ella Seidel still sits at No. 103 as the very first alternate, followed by Elsa Jacquemot of France (No. 104) and Anna Blinkova (No. 105, competing as a Neutral athlete).

Further down, experienced names continue to wait for their opportunity: 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin sits at No. 108, former Grand Slam finalist Marketa Vondrousova is well down the list at No. 137, and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu remains a possibility at No. 170. Given how many withdrawals have already occurred in the past few weeks, none of these players can be ruled out of a main-draw spot before the tournament gets underway.

What Comes Next

With direct entry for the women’s draw cut off at rank No. 102 based on the July 20 ranking report, and with additional late withdrawals continuing to reshape the field right up until the start of play, fans should expect the exact list of 128 women in the draw to keep shifting in the final days before Sunday, August 30. Grand Slam tournaments routinely see a handful of late scratches due to injury or personal reasons, and this year has already proven no exception, with seven players confirmed out and at least one alternate already promoted into the field.

Overall, the tournament’s early data still shows a field stacked with pedigree: 17 former Grand Slam singles champions and 10 former US Open singles champions were part of the original combined entry list across the men’s and women’s draws, a reminder of just how much star power will be on display across the three weeks of competition, Fan Week events, and high-stakes matches at Flushing Meadows.

Whether it’s Sabalenka chasing history with a third straight title, Gauff and Pegula looking to add to their Grand Slam résumés on home soil, or a rising name like Andreeva or Eala making a deep run, the 2026 US Open women’s singles draw is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and unpredictable in recent memory — and the entry list is likely to see a few more changes before the first ball is struck.

Top 32 Women’s Singles Entry List

Note: Rank 12 (Victoria Mboko) is skipped in the official list, as that entrant is no longer part of the field.

=> View the full entry list