Frances Tiafoe and Karen Khachanov fell at the penultimate hurdle at the 2026 US Open, but both will be New York with big boosts in the rankings.
For the third time in five years, Tiafoe lost in the semi-final at Flushing Meadows as his dreams of a first-ever Grand Slam final were ended by fellow American Ben Shelton while Khachanov lost against Alexander Zverev in his second last-four appearance.
Khachanov suffered a straight-set defeat to top seed Zverev as the world No 2 won 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 57 minutes, but the German admits it could’ve been tighter.
“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward in a way. He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well,” he said.
Zverev added: “Second and third set I think it’s more than obvious that they could have gone both ways. I just played a few points better here and there, and I’m happy with the win.”
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After semi-final exits in 2022 and 2024, Tiafoe was again denied at the same stage by Shelton, who saw off defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.
Tiafoe, meanwhile, started well against Shelton as he won the opening set, but the 23-year-old upped his game and came away with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 win to reach his maiden major final.
ATP Ranking Points Earned
Khachanov started the 2026 season at No 17 in the rankings, but his form has dipped and by the time the US Open kicked off he had slipped to No 50.
But the 30-year-old will return to the top 30 on the back of his run to the semi-final as he has surged 24 places to No 26 in the Live ATP Rankings.
The ATP uses a rolling 52-week cumulative system to determine the rankings and it means players have to defend points they earned from the corresponding tournament/period 12 months ago.
Khachanov was seeded ninth in 2025, but lost in the second round so he only had 50 points to defend, while his run to the semi-final is worth 800 points. The net result is a 750-point boost in the ranking points.
Tiafoe had previously peaked at No 10 in the rankings, but he has secured a new career-high of No 8 with his last-four appearance.
The 28-year-old lost in the third round last year, which was worth 100 points, so he added 700 points to his total, earning a four-place jump.
Prize Money Earned At US Open
Khachanov had earned $1,407,005 in prize money so far in 2026 before heading to New York while his career earnings stood at $23,455,959.
His run to the semi-final boosted his bank balance by $2,800,000.
Tiafoe goes home with the same cheque as his earnings for 2026 increase from $2,831,365 to $5,631,365 while his career tally now stands at $21,505,046.
