The most open and unpredictable of all tennis majors returns to Queens this Sunday, with defending men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz up looking to retain US Open crown — and Novak Djokovic looking to make history.
The women’s draw had been almost as unpredictable as the men’s until recently, but Aryna Sabalenka’s hard court dominance has changed things.
Here’s what to know about the big stories in this year’s US Open, with the opening round getting underway on Monday:
Men’s US Open: Alcaraz looks to defend, US looks to snap title drought
Alcaraz, who prevailed over Jannik Sinner in four sets in the 2025 final last September, will make his comeback to competitive tennis at the US Open after a four-month lay-off with a wrist injury that forced him out of both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier in the summer.
The two-time US Open champion is bidding to become the first man to retain his title in Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray in straight sets in 2008 to win a fifth crown on the spin.
The tournament has proved to be the most open and unpredictable of all men’s grand slam events since Federer’s victory, with 11 different players taking the title in New York between 2009 and 2025, far more than any other major in the same timeframe.
Alcaraz will look to buck that trend across the next two weeks, but it remains to be seen if he can hit the ground running after his injury lay-off, which could leave the door open for four-time champion Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a record-breaking 25th career grand slam title.
Djokovic, who could meet Alcaraz in the semi-finals, has not won a major title since his victory in New York in 2023, with eight of his last 11 grand slam exits coming at the hands of either Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, who has withdrawn from the tournament through injury.
Sinner’s absence and Alcaraz’s potential rustiness present a chance for the 39-year-old to claim one last glorious victory before the window of opportunity probably snaps shut forever. A 25th major title would see Djokovic stand alone with the most singles titles in men’s or women’s tennis, one ahead of Margaret Court.
Sinner’s injury and Alcaraz’s lack of match sharpness also present an opportunity for an American man to claim the title for the first time since Andy Roddick claimed his first and only grand slam title in 2003. Taylor Fritz became the first American man in 18 years to reach a US Open final when he lost to Sinner in the 2024 final, while Frances Tiafoe has made the semi-finals in two of his last four appearances in Queens.
Ben Shelton, meanwhile, comes into the tournament off the back of a second successive title in Toronto but has failed to advance beyond the US Open third round in each of his last two appearances at the tournament. He did, however, reach a semi-final at the competition in 2023, matching his career best performance at a grand slam.
But world No. 2 Alexander Zverev ultimately stands to gain the most from Sinner’s injury and any Alcaraz rustiness.
The German finally ended a long wait for a maiden grand slam title when he defeated Flavio Cobolli in five sets at the French Open in June, while he also reached the final at Wimbledon a month later, where he went down in four sets against Sinner.
A US Open finalist in 2020, Zverev looks poised for a deep run at the 2026 tournament.
Women’s US Open: Sabalenka looks for a threepeat
Sabalenka, the world No. 1 women’s player, has reached the last seven hard court major finals, winning the last two titles in New York and reaching three finals in a row.
Sabalenka has faced an American opponent in each of her three final appearances at the National Tennis Center, seeing off Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in straight sets in 2025 and 2024 respectively after going down to Coco Gauff in straight sets in 2023.
Gauff’s victory marks the only American victory in New York since Sloane Stephens claimed her first and only grand slam title in 2017, but there have been plenty of encouraging signs in recent years, with at least two American players reaching the semi-finals in each of the last three years.
Gauff also comes into the tournament having defeated Pegula at the Cincinnati Open final last week, with Pegula reaching the last four in her last appearances in both New York and Australia.
Iga Swiatek, the 2022 champion, kicks off her US Open campaign amid one of the more testing years of her career, having failed to go beyond a grand slam quarter-final since winning Wimbledon in 2025. The six-time grand slam champion has not gone a calendar year without winning a major title since a barren spell in 2021.
She did, however, claim victory in Toronto after defeating world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final.
Rybakina, who conquered Sabalenka in the Australian Open final to win the second major title of her career early in 2026, looks to be Sabalenka’s biggest threat on hard courts. However, the Kazakh suffered an achilles injury in that defeat against Swiatek, with doubts over her fitness ahead of the US Open.
All signs, therefore, point to Sabalenka once again going deep in Queens, with a fourth successive final against an American opponent very much on the cards.
