The US Open 2026: Everything You Need To Know To Be Grand Slam Ready
- therookiereporters
- Aug 26
- 10 min read
With the last Grand Slam of 2026 coming up in New York, we tell you everything you need to know to boost your tennis knowledge and become grand slam ready. From the form guides to the unmissable moments, we have you covered with this guide, so you’re ready to ace any tennis talk over the next few weeks!
With the qualifiers commencing this week, we are rapidly approaching the beginning of the US Open.
The US Open is the fourth and final grand slam tournament of the tennis season. The tournament takes place in New York City, and is home to the largest tennis-specific stadium in the world. While famous for its night matches, the fast paced vibrant nature of the tournament contrasts the quiet and traditional atmosphere of Wimbledon, providing tennis with the versatility we have all come to know and love.The US Open became the first grand slam to introduce match ending tiebreakers back in 1970, and it is the only grand slam in history to have been played on three different surfaces.
This year, we will be fortunate enough to watch Serena Williams return for the first time in four years. Serena currently holds the record for most singles titles, tied on 6 with Chris Evert. The men’s singles record is split three ways between Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and the iconic Roger Federer.
This year however, we are missing some big names to the lineup. World number one Jannik Sinner withdrew last Friday due to injury concerns regarding his knee, but we are also missing former world number 4 Jack Draper, who similarly to Sinner has withdrawn due to an ongoing left arm injury. However, the US Open will welcome back world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who has been sidelined for 4 months with a wrist injury.
Draper had also withdrawn from his home tournament in Wimbledon, and recently played in Montreal and Cincinnati but has decided to withdraw from the US open to try aid his recovery, but unfortunately there have been lots more withdrawals in the mixed doubles category, which includes Draper himself. Elena-Gabriela Ruse has withdrawn due to a right foot injury and there have been many withdrawals due to conflict scheduling from players like Naomi Osaka who has opted to play in the Women’s singles instead.
Men’s Singles
Last year's winner in the Men’s singles was Carlos Alcaraz who beat Jannik Sinner to the title 12 months ago after a masterclass on court. Alcaraz - who is returning from a 4 month long wrist injury to the US Open, will be playing doubles however, with 6 time Women’s singles champion Serena Williams as a wildcard pairing.
The men’s final will be played on 13th September 2026, and with most notable names, such as Sinner, Djokovic - who has opted for doubles this time - and now Carlos Alcaraz out of contention, the title is open to anyone. Ben Shelton, world number 6 has been in good form recently, coming from a win in the Montreal open, he is certainly one of the favourites to win the Men’s singles on his home soil. The last time the Men’s singles was won by an American was in 2003 when Andy Roddick won. Can the wait finally be ended?
While many may wish for an American to end the 23 year long wait for a title on home soil. Over the pond there are some strong British contenders for the men’s singles too. British number one Cam Norrie heads to the US open in strong form. He will play alongside and potentially against fellow countryman and Wimbledon semi finalist Arthur Fery, who is entering the main draw for the first time after a sensational wild card performance earlier this year.
However, we have also seen the unfortunate withdrawal of João Fonseca, who has been battling against an ongoing abdomen issue, which has now forced the 20 year old Brazilian to pull out of just his second US Open tournament in hopes of regaining full fitness once more.
Sinner’s absence has completely changed the dynamics of the draw, he was undoubtedly the favourite despite concerns about his knee. Now with the Italian rule out, anything is possible. We may even see breakthrough Spanish sensation Rafael Jódar go far this year. The 19 year old is currently ranked eleventh in the world, can the Spaniard go on a fairytale run in New York and win his first grand slam title?
Women’s Singles
For the women’s singles, it’s Belarussian player Aryna Sabalenka who comes in as the 2x defending champion, after defeating Americans Jessica Pegula (2024) and Amanda Anisimova (2025) to claim her 2 crowns at Flushing Meadows. But her lack of form since winning back-to-back WTA 1000’s in Indian Wells and Miami in March doesn’t inspire confidence for a 3-peat, especially after taking what could be considered ‘shock’ defeats to Ekaterina Alexandrova and Sára Bejlek at the Canadian and Cincinnati Open tournaments earlier this month.
Home hopes for the tournament are high, with 7 American players lying within the top 32 - earning them a seeded position in the draw. Of this group, both Coco Gauff and Madison Keys have won Grand Slams before - Gauff’s two titles came at the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open, whilst Keys’ sole title came at the 2025 Australian Open. But with Anisimova and Pegula both making the final in past years, and young star Iva Jovic breaking through with a quarterfinal run at this year’s Australian Open, there’s a very good chance that the trophy could be kept on home soil.
Looking elsewhere, the attention immediately falls to Iga Świątek, whose recent upturn in form has garnered plenty of attention from fellow players. The Pole started the year rather anonymously, with only one tour-level semifinal to her name before the start of August. But since then, she’s claimed the WTA1000 crown at the Canadian Open, and also made the semifinal of the Cincinnati Open, the two most important tournaments leading up to The US Open - and the question now remains for if she can continue this upturn and claim her second title at Flushing Meadows, with her first coming in 2022.
Additional mentions should be made for our three Grand Slam champions of 2026, who’re looking for a second slam title this year. Elena Rybakina, Australian Open champion, is doubtful on participation due to an injury sustained at the Cincinnati Open, appearing to be around her lower leg - potentially a calf, ankle or achilles injury. French Open champion Mirra Andreeva’s form has been mixed since her title in June, but with such raw talent, there’s a good chance she can make a good run in New York. And finally for Linda Nosková, the success hasn’t stopped since winning Wimbledon - alongside countrywoman Marie Bouzkova, she took home the doubles title at Cincinnati, and will take confidence from this to try earn a second slam on the bounce.
Finally, two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka will also be vying for a third title in New York, around a year after her sensational return to the top of her game. Osaka had taken a hiatus from the WTA tour in 2023, expecting her first child and promising a return the following year - but it was the North American swing in 2025 which saw her return to form, reaching the final of the Canadian Open and the semifinals of The US Open. It remains to be seen if she can repeat these levels again, but what is for sure is that she will bring a stunning outfit for her court entrances, often as stunning as the tennis she plays.
Mens’ & Womens’ Doubles
In last years’ men’s doubles competition, it was Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina who claimed the title, in a closely-run affair with Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski. All four will be coming back for the 2026 competition, but only Granollers and Zeballos remain partnered up - Skupski instead will partner with American Christian Harrison, and Salisbury with American Rajeev Ram.
Top seeds Harri Heliövaara and Henry Patten come into the tournament having claimed victory at Wimbledon in July, whilst Harrison and Skupski - seeded fifth - also come in off the back of the Australian Open title in January. Additionally, Granollers and Zeballos won the French Open in June - and all three of these teams will be vying for a second slam title this year.
Many other seeded teams include former slam champions, including Simone Bolelli (partnering Andrea Vavassori), Édouard Roger-Vasselin (partnering Hugo Nys), Mate Pavić (partnering Marcelo Arévalo), Kevin Krawietz (partnering Tim Pütz) and Nikola Mektić (partnering Austin Krajicek) - in addition to Arévalo and Krajicek themselves. This marks a field full of strength, ready to bring a showcase of doubles to the New York Crowd.
In the women’s doubles, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Kiwi Erin Routliffe claimed the title in straight sets over Czech Kateřina Siniaková and American Taylor Townsend - but unfortunately the pair will not be defending their title as a pair. For 2026, Routliffe will be partnering with Indonesian Aldila Sutjiadi, entering the competition as the ninth seeds, whilst Dabrowski and Brazilian Luisa Stefani will be seeded third.
Siniaková and Townsend enter the competition as the top seeded pair, and it’s for a good reason - since partnering up at Wimbledon 2024, they’ve won at ⅓ of the slams they’ve entered, and make regular deep runs in all events, making them the odds-on favourites to reclaim the US Open crown they claimed in 2024.
Other slam champions amongst the field include Hsieh Su-wei (partnering Jeļena Ostapenko), Guo Hanyu & Kristina Mladenovic (partnering each other), Zhang Shuai (partnering Jiang Xinyu) and Elise Mertens (partnering Diana Shnaider) - but there are many more teams who’ve won lower level tournaments who could be a threat for the doubles crown.
Mixed Doubles
The mixed doubles tournament is a quick fire all star tournament that takes place in the opening week of the tournament, there are sixteen teams instead of your average thirty two, and teams can enter using their combined global rankings or through wildcard entries, such as the Alcaraz/Williams pairing we will see this year.
Last year's mixed doubles winners were Italian duo Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who will hope to defend their title this year. This year however, we are in for some interesting games. Not only are Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz in the mix this year as a wildcard pairing. This comes despite some questions about Williams’s form because of her early exit from the women’s singles at Wimbledon and the doubles in Cincinnati with her sister. Undoubtedly, the lineup of Legend Williams and one of the best players of the modern game Carlos Alcaraz, still make for an exceptionally talented pairing and no doubt could be one of the favourites.
However, a team that may stand in their way is men’s World number 7 Novak Djokovic, who is still chasing that 25th grand slam title and women’s number one and two time doubles champion Arnya Sabalenka, despite dips in form for both players respectively, remain firmly in contention to go all the way to the final.
The format for mixed doubles is a bit different to your traditional game. Only four games are played in a set, if a score of 4-4 in game occurs however a standard tiebreak is played. Notably, if a game reaches a deuce; no advantage points are played, the game shifts to a sudden death scenario, where the winner of the deciding point wins the set all together.
This changes in the final however, where the number of games played in a set is increased back up to six with the absence once again of Advantage points.
There are many other exciting pairings for the mixed doubles category such as world number 2 Alexander Zverev, who despite an early exit in the Cincinnati Open looks to have a strong partnership with Taylor Townsend who is ranked second in the WTA doubles rankings. Townsend/Zverev look to be strong contenders for this year's title. However, it could be disappointment for home hero Taylor Fritz as his partner Elena Rybakina has withdrawn due to injury, which has left Fritz scrambling to find a new partner.
Yesterday’s qualifying tournament saw the final names into the draw confirmed - with Kiwi Erin Routliffe and Briton Lloyd Glasspool winning the first ticket, and Czech Kateřina Siniaková and Brit Henry Patten claiming the final place. However, a last minute withdrawal for Frances Tiafoe and Leylah Fernandez has seen a third place open up, to which Kristina Mladenovic of France and Marcelo Arévalo of El Salvador have been assigned as the best of the losing teams, becoming the Lucky Losers.
Other Things To Note
Away from the big 5 events, there’s much more which goes on at The US Open which is worth highlighting. The world’s best wheelchair tennis players will also be contesting the grand slam, across mens’, womens’ and quad singles and doubles. Quad wheelchair tennis is differentiated by the fact its players have a loss of limb function in at least one arm, as compared to the open category which is for lower limb function loss - and only has one singles and doubles category, leading to male and female athletes competing at times.
At this moment, the big names of wheelchair tennis include Tokido Oda and Alfie Hewett in the men' s category, Diede De Groot and Yui Kamiji in the women’s category, and Niels Vink and Guy Sasson in the quad category - though there are many more names who deserve a spotlight too.
Junior tennis also is a major showcase at the US Open, with the next generation of tennis stars set to make their mark in New York City in the hopes of one day becoming a senior level champion. Events are held for singles and doubles, and there’s even the same opportunities for wheelchair tennis, making sure that everybody gets the spotlight they deserve. Former junior champions of the US Open who’ll compete in the 2026 main draws include Taylor Fritz (2015), Félix Auger-Aliassime (2016), Martín Landaluce (2022), João Fonseca (2023), Rafael Jódar (2024), Marie Bouzková (2014), Dalma Gálfi (2015), Amanda Anisimova (2017), Wang Xiyu (2018), Camila Osorio (2019) and Alex Eala (2022).
Outside of the court, the tournament remains a staple of New York culture, including a custom-made cocktail just for the event, the Honey Deuce. Made with honeydew melon, vodka, raspberry liqueur and lemonade, the drink sells over 700,000 units across the tournament, which equates to around 33,000 per day. And with a Honey Deuce, you can indulge in more curated experiences for The US Open, including exhibition matches in the first week from famous faces past and present, and events like silent discos and dance showcases, all to get a taste of New York’s diversity.
So now you know everything about The US Open, there’s one last thing to do ahead of the 2026 edition kicks off - and that’s giving you our winner predictions!
Men’s Singles - Ben Shelton (Liv) and Carlos Alcaraz (Zoë)
Women’s Singles - Iga Światek (Zoë) and Naomi Osaka (Liv)
Men’s Doubles - J. Cash/L. Glasspool (Zoë) and H. Heliövaara/H. Patten (Liv)
Women’s Doubles - K. Siniaková/T. Townsend (both)
Mixed Doubles - S. Errani/A. Vavassori (Liv) and K. Siniaková/H. Patten (Zoë)
Article Written by Liv Woolley and Zoë Gray
