Sara Bejlek

Bejlek is a left-hander who wins matches with angles rather than power. At 5ft 4in she is one of the shorter players on tour and gives up significant height to almost every opponent, so the game is built on court coverage, variety and the awkwardness of a left-handed serve swinging away from a right-hander's forehand. She defends well enough to drag rallies past the point where bigger hitters want them, which is how both the Sabalenka and Keys wins were constructed: neither was an ambush, and both went the distance on her terms.

Bejlek has been priced on her ranking rather than her ceiling for most of 2026, which is how a player who won Abu Dhabi as a qualifier came into Cincinnati as a long outsider against the world No. 1. That gap is likely to narrow after this fortnight. She is still short of a deep Grand Slam run, so best-of-three hard-court draws remain her strongest territory rather than the majors. Odds are approximate at time of writing.