The singles action of the 2026 US Open begins on Sunday, August 30, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows
And the roaster is stacked with 11 former singles champions across both men and women draw participating in this year’s tournament
Un recuerdo para toda la vida 🇪🇸🏆 pic.twitter.com/r2I6tDp9Ay
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2026
The Rusty Champ
Carlos Alcaraz, the defending men’s champion has not played a competitive singles match since April.
He sat out both the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, and his mixed doubles appearance with Serena Williams earlier this month has been a reason for concern about his serve
He opens against Roman Safiullin – the same player who beat him at the 2023 Paris Masters before Alcaraz got his revenge at the Olympics
Djokovic’s Half
Alcaraz was placed in the same half as Novak Djokovic, setting up a potential semifinal clash between the two players.
Novak will play his opening game vs. Mariano Navone and will hope to keep going as he chases a legendary 25th Grand Slam title
Top-seed
The top seed for the 2026 US Open is Alexander Zverev after Jannik Sinner opted out due to knee injury
His first major title at Roland Garros followed by a trip to the Wimbledon final has made him the new top seed and given him an 18-2 Grand Slam match record this year.
He opens against Lorenzo Sonego, with a possible quarterfinal against Alex de Minaur on the other side
The Americans
Last year’s runner-up Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton both come in with genuine form behind them
Ben has win 4 singles titles this year including a Masters 1000 title in Canada. Fritz on the other hand won the Mubadala DC Open earlier this month
No American man has won this tournament since Andy Roddick in 2003, and these two would be hoping to change that
Open field on the women’s side
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to defend her title again but she has had what many would call a shaky form this summer, which opens the door for Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek.
There’s also a sentimental element to the wildcard list – Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and a Serena-Venus doubles reunion that hasn’t happened at a major since 2022.
Two weeks of intense grit and resilience under unpredictable weather conditions. The US Open is here
