While Hologic WTA Tour players are playing through steamy conditions as the US Open Series continues to unfold this week in Montreal -- the Omnium Banque Nationale begins Monday -- Martina Navratilova is enjoying the more temperate environment back home in the Czech Republic.

With no Tennis Channel available where she is, Navratilova said she’ll be scrolling through the scores on her phone. With 39 of the Hologic WTA Tour’s Top 40 scheduled to play in Canada (Ons Jabeur is out with a knee injury), there will be a lot to take in.

Montreal, the first of back-to-back WTA 1000 events, is followed by the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and the US Open, the season’s fourth and final major. Navratilova, with her usual candor, took the time to break down the prospects of some of the top players:

Montreal preview

Big Three looking to distance themselves

They’ve won four of the past six Grand Slam singles titles, and Iga Swiatek’s No.1 ranking will be on the line at this week’s event in Montreal. The math is simple: If No.2 Aryna Sabalenka wins the title and Swiatek loses before the quarterfinals, after 70-plus weeks, we’ll have a new No.1.

No.1 Iga Swiatek

2023 W-L: 47-7

2023 Titles: 4

Navratilova’s take: “Winning in Warsaw wasn’t as easy as it could have been. It’s a lot of pressure for her to do well, but she came through. She won the [US] Open last year, so Iga must feel pretty good about herself on the hard courts. It looks like hard courts and clay are her best surfaces. She’s won on faster hard courts as well as the slower ones. I think she likes a true bounce and she can still slide on the hard stuff. Other than Coco Gauff, I think she’s the best mover, efficient and quick. I think she’s still the favorite to finish the year No.1 but, it’s a lot closer than it was this time last year.”

No.2 Aryna Sabalenka

2023 W-L: 40-8

2023 Titles: 3

Navratilova’s take: “The first time I saw her was at the [2018] US Open, when she beat Petra [Kvitova]. And I’m like, ‘If this girl ever learns to start taming her power, she’ll be tough to beat.’ If we get that final [versus Swiatek], it would be great. One of them would win her second Slam of the year, and the winner would probably finish No.1.”                                                                                             

No.3 Elena Rybakina

2023 W-L: 35-9

2023 Titles: 2

Navratilova’s take:  “It’s a strange thing that she hasn’t done better by now on the hard courts. You don’t have to slide on hard courts, but if you can, so much the better. It’s not the best part of her game, but with her solid, solid serving and groundstrokes you’d expect to see more. So we’ll see if she brings the goods -- she certainly has the goods.”

Americans eye the next step

They are also both Top 10 singles players. No.4 Jessica Pegula and No.7 Coco Gauff made the quarterfinals of the US Open a year ago. Can they take another leap forward? Gauff was the champion Sunday in Washington D.C., her most notable title of her career, while Pegula fell in a closely contested semifinal.

No.4 Jessica Pegula

2023 W-L: 37-13

2023 Titles: 0

Navratilova’s take: “She was up 4-1 in the third set against [Marketa] Vondrousova in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and now she’s 0-6 in major quarters. The more that happens, the greater the scar tissue builds up. It becomes a mental thing. Jessie has improved so much -- if you saw her five years ago you wouldn’t have pegged her as a Top 5 player. I still think she can beat these elite women if she can just find a little more belief in her attacking game. You’re not going to win a major strictly playing defense. She needs to get outside of her comfort zone the way [Elina] Svitolina has been doing.”

No.7 Coco Gauff

2023 W-L: 30-12

2023 Titles: 1

Navratilova’s take: “She showed how capable she is in Washington. Didn’t lose a set. The forehand can still be a question mark, but if she plays like she did this past week, who knows what can happen these next few tournaments.”  

Czechs making a strong showing

It’s been a nice couple of weeks for Czech Republic stars Marketa Vondrousova and Petra Kvitova. Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion, has been basking in the afterglow of her first major and a Top 10 debut. Last month, Kvitova married her seven-year coach Jiri Vanek.

No.8 Petra Kvitova

2023 W-L: 25-8

2023 Titles: 2

Navratilova’s take: “Petra has historically played better in Europe than in the States, but she’s showing me something this year we haven’t seen in a while. This stretch is always tricky for her, but if she can build off her confidence and if she gets that serve going, anything is possible.”

No.10 Marketa Vondrousova

2023 W-L: 29-10

2023 Titles: 1

Navratilova’s take: “It’s a complete unknown -- how will she react to having this target on her back? How will she handle it? With her strokes, that loopy forehand that bounces up high -- opponents don’t like that -- she’s got a nice slice that bounces low. People don’t like that, either. Backhand as solid as a rock. I think with a better serve she’d have better results on the hard courts. She’s Top 10 now; I’d like to see her get to the fourth round at least.”

Not to be overlooked

Maria Sakkari lost in the first round at Wimbledon but rebounded nicely this past week, reaching the Washington D.C. final. Caroline Garcia fell in the third round in London and failed to win a match on the hard courts of Washington. Ons Jabeur had another terrific run at the All England Club but succumbed in the final for a second straight year. A knee injury forced her out of Montreal.

No.6 Caroline Garcia

2023 W-L: 27-16

2023 Titles: 0

Navratilova’s take: "I feel like she’s played better when the expectations are not there. She’s done well on hard courts -- she won the WTA Finals in Fort Worth -- but she doesn’t seem to deal with the pressure when she’s supposed to win. She’d rather be the underdog. Such good athlete, good mover and big weapons.”

No.9 Maria Sakkari

2023 W-L: 26-15

2023 Titles: 0

Navratilova’s take: “She’s had a really tough year until this week in Washington. She made four finals last year. I mean, she’s trying so hard during every match. This was a good result for her because it’s hard to believe you can win when you haven’t been winning. Let’s see if she can keep it up.”