NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, August 28, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
The US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam event, begins for the second time on a Sunday – just three days from now – making it a 15-day event like the Australian Open and Roland-Garros.
While defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain makes his long-awaited return to competitive tennis after nursing a wrist injury that has kept him sidelined since Barcelona in April, World No. 1 and 2024 US Open champion Jannik Sinner of Italy withdrew earlier this week citing a knee injury. With the uncertainty of Alcaraz and the absence of Sinner, it’s anyone’s guess how things will shake out over the course of the New York fortnight.
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On Thursday afternoon, the main draws for both men’s and women’s singles were revealed at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Reigning Roland-Garros champion Alexander Zverev of Germany and defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka received this year’s No. 1 seeds. Each will be at the top of their respective draws. Meanwhile, Alcaraz is seeded second and is at the bottom of the men’s draw. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan is seeded No. 2 and anchors the bottom half of the women’s draw.
World No. 2 Zverev, who will go after his second major crown of the year after winning the French Open earlier in the season, will face No. 91 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the first round. His likely road to the final could include a second-round match against No. 52 Quentin Halys of France, No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile in the third round and No. 13 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the fourth round. No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia looms large in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada is a likely semifinalist.
The projected path for top-seeded Alexander Zverev to win the title 🛣️ pic.twitter.com/0W7Iy7UNKH
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
Meanwhile, Alcaraz will open against No. 98 Roman Safiullin of Russia, followed by No. 70 Jaime Faria of Portugal and No. 30 seed Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in the third round. A fourth-round popcorn match against No. 15 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan is a possibility followed by No. 8 seed Ben Shelton of the United States in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Carlos’ possible path to the final in his return to Grand Slam tennis this year 👇 pic.twitter.com/SAPWgqdiaG
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
Speaking of Djokovic, who is tied with Margaret Court for most major titles all-time with 24, he can further distance himself from Rafael Nadal (22) and Hall of Fame inductee Roger Federer (20) by winning his fifth US Open crown. He’s won the title at Flushing Meadows four previous times (2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023). Like last year, he comes into the US Open looking to win his first Grand Slam title of the season – and this time, his first singles title of any kind in 2026.
As Djokovic begins the chase for his 25th major title, the 39-year-old Serbian great (14-6 this season) is seeded fourth and was placed in the bottom half of the 128-player men’s draw. He drew No. 48 Mariano Navone of Argentina as his first-round opponent when the main draw was revealed. A possible second-round opponent is No. 43 Matteo Berrettini of Italy followed by No. 27 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round. A likely fourth-round opponent could be No. 16 seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States, followed by No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the quarterfinals and Alcaraz in the semifinals.
The possible path for Grand Slam 2⃣5⃣ pic.twitter.com/k5o6ml0I4G
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
A remarkable feature of the bottom half of the draw is Alcaraz is joined by four past US Open champions: Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev of Russia (2021), Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland (2016), and Marin Cilic of Croatia (2014).
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Sabalenka is top seed in the women’s draw
World No. 1 Sabalenka, a winner at Brisbane and the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami, is the women’s top seed, followed by World No. 2 Rybakina, a winner of the Australian Open and Stuttgart, at second seed. No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States was drawn in Sabalenka’s half of the draw and No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, coming off winning the Cincinnati Open, is in Rybakina’s half.
Sabalenka, a winner of the past two US Open titles, will open against No. 58 Camila Osorio of Colombia, then likely would face No. 71 Renata Zarazua of Mexico in the second round. She could face No. 27 seed Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia in the third round and No. 15 Diana Shnaider of Russia in the fourth round. A possible quarterfinal opponent is No. 6 seed and defending Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova of Czechia, followed by Pegula in the semifinals.
Does this possible path set Sabalenka up for a US Open 3-peat? 👀 pic.twitter.com/3zF9C3XSn5
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
As for Rybakina, she will begin against 580th-ranked wild card Thea Frodin of the United States and would then face No. 90 Darja Vidmanova of Czechia in the second round. A possible third-round opponent is No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece followed in the fourth round by No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan. No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland is a possible quarterfinal opponent followed by No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the semifinals.
A second hard court Grand Slam in 2026 could await Elena Rybakina if she can navigate this possible road to the final! pic.twitter.com/9y8KwbcKPk
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
In the same quarter of the draw as Pegula, 46-year-old former World No. 1 Venus Williams is back in the women’s singles draw. The seven-time major champion, ranked 100th, who won US Open titles in 2000 and 2001, received a wild card and will face 68th-ranked fellow American wild card Sofia Kenin in the opening round.
Will 23-year American men’s drought end?
It’s been 90 consecutive majors since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open. That’s quite a drought for American men’s tennis.
However, there are current five U.S. men currently ranked in the ATP Top 20: No. 9 Ben Shelton, No. 10 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe, No. 15 Learner Tien and No. 17 Brandon Nakashima. Add to the mix No. 21 Tommy Paul. Each will be seeded at this year’s US Open and any of the quartet is capable of making a deep run at this major.
Not counting possible qualifiers or lucky losers, there are currently 16 Americans in the men’s singles draw.
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There’s plenty of first-round popcorn matches
There are plenty of good popcorn matches in both the men’s and women’s draws that involve all-American encounters, veterans and newcomers to be found in the first round, which is spread across the first three days of the US Open. They include:
• No. 12 Rafael Jodar of Spain versus Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia; No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe vs. Martin Damm in an all-American showdown; wild card Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland versus Matteo Berrettini of Italy; and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece versus Cincinnati Open champion and No. 10 seed Arthur Fils of France.
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• Wild cards Venus Williams versus Sofia Kenin in an all-American clash; Taylor Townsend of the United States versus French Open runner-up and No. 20 seed Maja Chwalinska of Poland; No. 22 seed Madison Keys of the United States versus Alina Korneeva of Russia; No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland versus Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, No. 14 seed Iva Jovic of the United States against Magdalena Frech of Poland.
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The 2026 US Open men’s singles draw
Take a look at Djokovic’s and Alcaraz’s quarters 👀 pic.twitter.com/PHKRQwa3ST
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
The 2026 US Open women’s singles draw
Check out Gauff’s and Rybakina’s quarters of the draw! pic.twitter.com/lO4j52bqzX
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026
