India, Aug. 21 -- Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has been handed a tricky draw at the US Open, as the women's singles draw for the 2025 edition of the Grand Slam was revealed on Thursday. She had overcome American Jessica Pegula in the final last year to claim her maiden US Open title, and became the first woman in eight years to hold both the hard-court majors in a single season.

The Belarusian, who found herself in the top half of the draw, will begin her title defence against Rebeka Masarova, and has 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez as her projected third-round opponent. The No. 31 seed heads into the tournament on the back of a title-winning run at the Citi Open last month. No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina is Sabalenka's projected round-o...