The No. 2 seed and defending champion at Flushing Meadows immediately moves into the favorite role with Serena sitting it out. A win at the Cincinnati Women's Open earlier this month shows she's still in top form. The smart money's on Clijsters.

The Dane made the final at last year's U.S. Open and is coming off a title at the prestigious Rogers Cup. With Serena's absence, Wozniacki is the No. 1 seed, meaning there will be loads of expectation. Anything short of a championship would be a disappointment, and with this weakened field it's a definite possibility.

Sharapova continues to fight back from the shoulder injuries that have dogged the past few years of her career, and we're finally seeing signs of life. She made the final at both of the summer hard-court tourneys she played and heads into this U.S. Open with her best shot at Slam success in a long time.

We're still waiting for Azarenka to break through at a Grand Slam. The U.S. Open has been her worst — she's been to the quarterfinals once at each of the other three but only as far as the fourth round in New York. Still, strong runs at two summer hard-court events — a title in Stanford and a semifinal run in Montreal — give reason for optimism.

What to make of her year? The perennial top-10 player had a miserable first seven months of 2010, watching her ranking fall to No. 21. Then she won the title in San Diego and made a run to the semis in Montreal in August. The 2004 U.S. Open champion has the game to win in New York and looms as a big sleeper with the No. 11 seed.

She hasn't played since Wimbledon. She hasn't been to the final in New York since 2002. This is her worst Grand Slam year since 2006. It's always tough to count out a Williams sister, but even in a wide-open field it's tough to get excited about Venus' chances.

She'll be the No. 4 seed in New York and has been a finalist at the year's final Slam before, but the summer hard-court season has not been kind to her. Jankovic — who says she has fully recovered from a recent ankle injury — has just one win in three events in the North American swing.

Still the most accomplished player never to win a Slam, Dementieva has come close to shedding that label in New York before, reaching the final in 2004. She's made the semifinal round of a Slam nine times, including five in the last three years. But a poor summer season leaves little to get excited about.

We hate to burst anyone's bubble, but it seems even Oudin doesn't want us to think she has a chance to contend at this year's U.S. Open. The great underdog story of last year's tournament, Oudin has struggled with the resulting expectations ever since. She has just three wins in her last 11 tournaments.

Like Stosur, the French Open champion has had a forgettable summer and has all the makings of a one-hit Slam wonder. She was a quarterfinalist in New York in 2003, but even that seems like a stretch for the No. 6 seed.

Stosur stepped into the limelight with her run to the French Open final, but she's only played four tournaments since then and none have gone all that well. In six trips to the U.S. Open, she's never been past the second round. Her position in the draw as the No. 5 seed might help her do better than that, but even the second week is hard to imagine.

Serena Williams will miss the 2010 U.S. Open due to a bizarre foot injury suffered last month. That's good news for the rest of the women in New York. Which of them has a real shot to win the title, and which are just dreaming? We break down the chances of some of the biggest names.