The US Open starts on Monday and reigning champions Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic are both in the draw. But are they both favourites, with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and many more in the mix? We asked our experts:

Who will win the women’s title and why?

Bill Connelly: This is a strange draw. So many of the best players are struggling or injured. Granted, “not winning three tournaments in a row (while winning 10 matches in each)” is a bit of a tough stretch for Swiatek, but her overall loss to Sabalenka in the Cincinnati semifinals made me think Sabalenka might be the player to beat.

Sabalenka rolled through four top-30 opponents without dropping a set, and she didn’t just beat Swiatek 6-3, 6-3, she dominated. She created 15 break points to Swiatek’s six, she broke serve in five of Swiatek’s nine service games, and while her serve wasn’t 100%, it was more than good enough.

Sabalenka’s draw is not exactly an easy task, but if Madison Keys (her potential fourth-round opponent) is not 100% fit, she may not face a strong test until the quarterfinals. A favorable draw for a three-time semifinalist (and one-time finalist) who is also the most in-form of the elite players? That seems like a good combination.

Tom Hamilton: Sabalenka. And this will be a Sabalenka who is still motivated after her recent series of physical setbacks. She lost to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros while ill, was then forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury she sustained in Berlin, and then pulled out of the Paris Olympics because she didn’t want to return to clay. So Sabalenka is going all out on the hardcourt and, after winning the Australian Open on the same surface earlier this year, will be looking to conquer New York.

D’Arcy Maine: Okay, sure, I agree that Sabalenka is definitely the favorite at the moment, and for good reason, but I’m going to go with Swiatek. Clearly disappointed by her bronze medal in Paris and likely motivated by that and her semifinal loss to Sabalenka in Cincinnati, it’s hard to believe she won’t be on a mission to avenge the past few months and could very well win a sixth major title in the process. Her path to the final certainly has its challenges – with Andreeva potentially waiting in the fourth round, Pegula or Danielle Collins likely opponents in the quarterfinals, and Elena Rybakina or her known nemesis Yelena Ostapenko (who has won all four of her previous matches) in the semifinals – but it certainly seems doable for Swiatek. And if Swiatek is fully focused, watch out for everyone else. She’s almost impossible to beat and, having won the title in 2022, knows exactly what it will take to lift the trophy.

Who will win the men’s title and why?

Connelly: I think Djokovic will do it again. He’s on the other side of the bracket from Sinner, Alcaraz And Daniil Medvedev; it’s almost as big a draw as he was at Wimbledon, when he reached the final with one knee. He’s had more time to recover, and after winning the Olympic gold medal — against Alcaraz, less than a week after Alcaraz had blown him out in the Wimbledon final — Djokovic will likely play free and confident.

This is as smooth a journey as Djokovic could have wished for, and with Sinner looking less than 100% and Alcaraz short-circuiting his only hard-court setup, Djokovic may also be the most in-form of the top players. Here comes Slam title No. 25?

Hamilton: Djokovic is in a great position to win his 25th Grand Slam. The draw has started beautifully for him, and given that he is only the fifth singles player to win the Golden Slam after winning the men’s singles in Paris, I suspect this comes at the perfect time for a rejuvenated Djokovic. He has achieved one of his ultimate career goals, and now the mission is to add to his men’s singles Slam tally. Alcaraz has looked a little off-kilter of late — and uncharacteristically upset in Cincinnati — while Sinner has had his distractions off the court.

Djokovic has already won here four times and is expected to lift the US Open trophy again on September 8.

Maine: That question is a lot harder to answer today than it was a few days ago. When I watched Sinner’s run in Cincinnati, where he defeated Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe in three straight days to claim the title, I was confident he would win the US Open. But now that he’s under fire and facing questions (and maybe even some boos and jeers from the New York crowd) following the revelation that he tested positive for a banned substance twice in March, I just don’t know how he’ll cope mentally.

If he stays focused and plays at the same level as he did in Cincinnati, he can certainly win it all, but there are just too many “what is” questions to be convinced of that at this point. Instead, I’ll go with Alcaraz, who may be playing with a slight chip on his shoulder after the Olympics and his (short) start to the hardcourt season. He thrives on the energy of New York and has proven how good he is in best-of-five environments and when big titles are on the line.