The wait for another man to successfully defend their US Open crown for the first time in nearly two decades continues after Carlos Alcaraz lost in the quarter-finals of the 2026 edition.
Alcaraz, who won his second title at Flushing Meadows last year when he defeated Jannik Sinner in four set in the final, was hoping to become the first man since 2008 to lift back-to-back trophies in New York.
After four comfortable wins, many pundits predicted the Spaniard would go all the way despite his lack of matches before the tournament due to his four-month absence from the ATP Tour because of a wrist injury.
Alcaraz fought valiantly, but the Ben Shelton bridge was one too far as the American won their late-night classic 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) with the clash finishing at 3:33am on Wednesday in New York.
And so the wait for another man to win back-to-back US Open trophies drags on with Roger Federer still the last to successfully defend his crown at Flushing Meadows in 2008.
US Open News
Federer, of course, won five in a row in New York from 2004 until 2008 and he was chasing a piece of history as he was looking to become the first man to win six titles in the Open Era in 2009
But he was denied by Juan Martin del Potro in the final as the Argentine secured his first and only Grand Slam with a 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 4–6, 7–6 (7–4), 6–2 victory.
After Federer missed out on the record, those who won the title after him failed to win back-to-back trophies.
The Curse Continues…
2010
Juan Martin del Potro didn’t even defend his title as he missed the tournament due to a wrist injury with Rafael Nadal going on to win his first title in New York.
2011
Nadal came close to making it back-to-back US Open trophies as he reached the final, but was denied by Novak Djokovic as the Serbian won the first of his four US Open titles.
2012
Like Nadal the previous year, Djokovic also came within one match of defending his title, but Andy Murray denied him in the final as he ended Great Britain’s long wait for another Grand Slam winner.
2013
Djokovic reached his third consecutive final in New York, but he finished on the losing side again as Nadal won his second US Open trophy.
2014
The Serbian’s title defence was ended in the semi-final by Kei Nishikori and the Japanese star then lost the final against Marin Cilic.
2015
Defending champion Cilic was beaten in the last four by Djokovic and the Serbian went on to beat Federer in the final.
2016
Another final defeat in New York followed for Djokovic as he lost in four sets against Stan Wawrinka.
2017
Wawrinka didn’t defend his crown the following year due to a knee injury and Nadal ended up winning his third trophy in New York with victory over Kevin Anderson in the final.
2018
Novak Djokovic returned to the final again and this time he defeated Juan Martin del Potro to win a fourth title.
2019
Djokovic retired due to a left shoulder injury in the fourth round and Nadal ended up beating Daniil Medvedev in the final.
2020
Nadal didn’t play as he skipped the tournament due to COVID-19 and Djokovic ended up getting kicked out of the tournament after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball.
Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev met in the final and the Austrian won in five sets.
2021
Thiem became the latest defending champion to miss the event due to injury and Daniil Medvedev ended up denying Djokovic the Calendar Grand Slam as he beat the Serbian in straight sets in the final.
2022
Medvedev lost in the fourth round against Nick Kyrgios and two new names appeared in a Grand Slam final as Alcaraz faced Casper Ruud with the Spaniard winning in four sets.
2023
With Alcaraz losing in the semi-finals against Medvedev, Djokovic won the last of his four titles in New York with a three-set victory.
2024
Djokovic’s title defence was ended in the third round by Alexei Popyrin and Jannik Sinner ended up being the last man standing as he defeated Taylor Fritz in the final.
2025
Sinner reached back-to-back finals, but the Italian didn’t win back-to-back trophies as he was denied by Alcaraz.
2026
Alcaraz’s title defence was ended by Shelton and a new champion will be crowned in New York with Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev, Botic van de Zandschlup, Karen Khachanov and Alexander Blockx still left in the main draw.
