American Coco Gauff is at the top of the women's Power Rankings heading to the 2023 US Open, and AI-generated Power Index agrees.
This year, the USTA has stepped up its game, partnering with IBM - one of the world's largest IT companies, in embracing the latest tech features to enhance a more insightful look of the game across their digital platforms. Aside from AI-powered audio commentary, IBM uses artificial intelligence models to develop a Power Index for all 128 players in the main draw.
This will be updated throughout the tournament based on how each player performs in every round. In their statement, it says, 'It combines advanced statistical analysis of match data with sentiment analysis of media commentary to help fans identify which players have momentum.'
At the start of the tournament, Coco Gauff leads the charts in the Power Rankings. It is hard to dispute this as sampled data strongly supports Gauff's form, having won 11 of 12 matches during the US swing. Since Gauff has the higher Power Index, she also benefits from a favorable draw according to the new AI tool in use.
At No. 2 is Ons Jabeur, who has a higher Power Index than defending champion Iga Swiatek and second seed Aryna Sabalenka. This is overly misleading as her grass-court form and fewer matches played on hard-court during the summer means that Jabeur will always have a healthier record statistically. It is arguable that she has the second-most favorable draw of all 128 players as well.
Iga Swiatek is in third spot in the Power Index. She has won the same amount of matches as Gauff on hard courts after Wimbledon (11) and won a maiden title on home soil. With the numbers and momentum, Swiatek is the rightful challenger to Gauff in the Power Index, highlighting the deficiency of a computerized system using the wrong sampled data.
Sabalenka ranks 6th in the Power Index but has the fifth most favorable draw. The Belarusian is projected to play her first seeded opponent in the third round. A Round of 16 defeat at the Canadian Open is the likely cause of Sabalenka's slightly lower Power Index, but she should definitely have ranked a bit higher.
American legend Venus Williams enters this year's tournament with a wild card. Having played just a handful of matches this season, Venus will arrive at Flushing Meadows with just one win in two warm-up tournaments. She pulled out from Cleveland this past week.
Venus doesn't have any momentum going right now, and considering she also lost in the first round of Wimbledon, it's no surprise to see her Power Index in three digits here (124). She has the sixth most difficult draw according to the IBM Draw Analysis, as she could play 21st seed Donna Vekic in the second round.
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