Much of the talk ahead of the 2015 US Open centers on the possibility of Serena Williams winning the calendar Grand Slam, but it could be the breakthrough major for one of the rising stars of women’s tennis. There are now so many talented young women on the tour that the established names may all be looking nervously over the shoulder, wondering which of the upstarts will be next to knock them off their perch.

The ringleader of the Flushing Meadows dark horses is Belinda Bencic, whose steady rise up the rankings culminated in a stunning victory over Serena in Toronto on her way to winning the Rogers Cup. The new Swiss Miss, who is mentored by Martina Hingis and coached by Hingis’ mother Melanie Molitor, has impressed observers with her mental strength, tactical awareness, and superb two-handed backhand. It is probably too early for her to win her first Grand Slam title, but it is not out of the question, and she is certainly capable of reaching the quarterfinals or semifinals – provided the sore wrist that forced her retirement from Cincinnati has healed.

Big things are also expected of 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza, who burst onto the scene in the 2014 French Open by knocking Serena Williams out in the second round. The American got her revenge at SW19, beating the Spaniard 6-4 6-4, but many in the tennis world were impressed enough by Muguruza’s performances in the tournament to declare that she would win a Grand Slam tournament in the future. Her failure to win a match since Wimbledon means she goes into the US Open without any kind of form, but her powerful, aggressive game ensures she is certainly capable of going far in the tournament if she makes it through the early rounds.

Twenty-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina currently sits fifth in the US Open Series standings, which aptly reflects her highly impressive form in the American hard-court season. She reached the Stanford semifinals, where she lost to Angelique Kerber, and then she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Garcia, and Lucie Safarova on her way to the Cincinnati semifinals. Once there, Svitolina ran into Serena and lost in straight sets, but she had already made a great impression in the weeks leading up to the US Open with her excellent all-round game and incredible on-court energy. She is definitely one to watch at Flushing Meadows.

America expects great performances from Madison Keys, and her inspired showings at two of this year’s Grand Slams suggest she is hungry to deliver them. The big hitter recorded impressive victories over Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams on her way to the Australian Open semifinals. Then, Keys reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals and lost a closely fought match 6-7 6-3 3-6 to Agnieszka Radwanska. Her poor performances in lesser tournaments suggest she prefers the big stage, and there is no bigger stage for a young American tennis player than the Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows. It would be no surprise to see the 20-year-old do well at the final Grand Slam of 2015.

Other outside bets to reach the latter stages of the US Open include Angelique Kerber, who has won four WTA titles – as many as Serena – in 2015, Ana Ivanovic, who is immensely talented and played well against Serena in Cincinnati, Karolina Pliskova, who boasts an impressive 39-16 win record this year, and Sloane Stephens, who fulfilled some of her promise by winning her first title in Washington recently.

It is also worth keeping an eye on Sabine Lisicki, the big-serving German who can beat most players on her day, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a talented Russian who has been in great form lately, and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, whose run to the Cincinnati quarterfinals was the clearest indication yet that she has the potential to reach the upper echelons of the women’s game.

It is a testament to the strength and depth in women’s tennis that there are so many players capable of reaching the latter stages of the 2015 US Open, and there is even a small chance that one of these rising stars could lift the trophy in just over a fortnight. Whatever happens, it will be highly entertaining to watch these future WTA stars compete for supremacy at the year’s final Grand Slam.