The US Open main draw is out, and the play kicks off on Sunday, but has the tournament already peaked?
Roger Federer has been back in New York for the first time since 2019, drawing a packed crowd just for a practice session with Lorenzo Musetti on Arthur Ashe before returning under the lights to face old rival Andy Roddick.
Federer then teamed up with John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi, and it was probably more entertaining than half the matches we’ll see over the next fortnight 😁.
There was also some late good news for Stan Wawrinka. The 2016 champion was inexplicably overlooked for a wild card despite this being the final season of his career, a decision that generated plenty of backlash from fans.
Fortunately, Patrick Kypson subsequently withdrew through injury, freeing up the final wild card and allowing Wawrinka to make one last appearance at Flushing Meadows, ten years after beating Novak Djokovic to win the title.
And the draw has even given us the possibility of one final Wawrinka-Djokovic meeting, with Stan facing Matteo Berrettini in round one and the winner likely to meet Djokovic in the second round.
Jannik Sinner is out injured, Alexander Zverev takes over as top seed after winning Roland Garros and reaching the Wimbledon final, and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returns after not playing a competitive singles match since April.
Djokovic is still hunting number 25, Ben Shelton and several of the Americans arrive in excellent form, and all five former US Open champions in the draw have somehow ended up in the bottom half.
So, Federer nostalgia out of the way, let’s take a look at the 2026 US Open draw.
Tournament Info
- Event Name: US Open
- Founded: 1881
- Location: Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, Flushing, NY 11368, United States
- Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre
- Surface: Outdoor Hard Court
- Ball: Wilson US Open
- Current Men’s Champion: Carlos Alcaraz
- Current Men’s Doubles Champions: Marcel Granollers / Horacio Zeballos
- Current Women’s Champion: Aryna Sabalenka
- Current Women’s Doubles Champions: Gabriela Dabrowski / Erin Routliffe
- Current Mixed Doubles Champions: Karolína Muchová / Jakub Menšík
- Category: Grand Slam
- Draw Size: 128 Singles / 48 Qualifying / 64 Doubles
- Dates: August 30th – September 13th
- Prize Money: $108,000,000 – View the full US Open prize money breakdown
US Open 2026 Men’s Singles
Seeds
- Alexander Zverev
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Félix Auger-Aliassime
- Novak Djokovic
- Flavio Cobolli
- Alex de Minaur
- Daniil Medvedev
- Ben Shelton
- Taylor Fritz
- Arthur Fils
- Frances Tiafoe
- Rafael Jódar
- Lorenzo Musetti
- Learner Tien
- Alexander Bublik
- Brandon Nakashima
- Jakub Menšík
- Jiří Lehečka
- Casper Ruud
- Tommy Paul
- Luciano Darderi
- Valentin Vacherot
- Andrey Rublev
- Francisco Cerúndolo
- Alejandro Tabilo
- Arthur Rinderknech
- Ugo Humbert
- Tomás Martín Etcheverry
- Alexander Blockx
- Cameron Norrie
- Matteo Arnaldi
- Zizou Bergs
Wild Cards
- Darwin Blanch
- Sebastian Gorzny
- Jack Kennedy
- Stan Wawrinka
- Gaël Monfils
- Dane Sweeny
- J.J. Wolf
- Michael Zheng
Protected Ranking
- Shang Juncheng
- Thanasi Kokkinakis
- Filip Misolic
- Carlos Taberner
Qualifiers
Lucky Losers
Withdrawals
- Sebastian Korda (64) → replaced by Aleksandar Vukic (102)
- Emilio Nava (100) → replaced by Benjamin Bonzi (103)
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (20) → replaced by Alexei Popyrin (104)
- Ethan Quinn (45) → replaced by Martin Damm (105)
- Gabriel Diallo (92) → replaced by Wu Yibing (106)
- Jannik Sinner (1) → replaced by Carlos Taberner (107 PR)
- Holger Rune (80) → replaced by Facundo Díaz Acosta (108)
- João Fonseca (28) → replaced by lucky loser (LL)
- Ugo Humbert (29) → replaced by lucky loser (LL)
2026 US Open Draw
Top Half
- Alexander Zverev [1] v Lorenzo Sonego
- Quentin Halys v Facundo Diaz Acosta
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Alexei Popyrin
- Yannick Hanfmann v Alejandro Tabilo [25]
- Luciano Darderi [21] v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Valentin Royer
- Dane Sweeny v Corentin Moutet
- Arthur Fery v Lorenzo Musetti [13]
- Rafael Jodar [12] v Thanasi Kokkinakis
- Fabian Marozsan v Michael Zheng
- Zachary Svajda v Daniel Altmaier
- Juan Manuel Cerundolo v Casper Ruud [19]
- Zizou Bergs [31] v Carlos Taberner
- Jesper de Jong v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Jan Choinski v Botic van de Zandschulp
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Alex de Minaur [6]
- Felix Auger-Aliassime [3] v Rinky Hijikata
- Roman Andres Burruchaga v Karen Khachanov
- Alex Molcan v Benjamin Bonzi
- Marcos Giron v Ignacio Buse [32]
- Jakub Mensik [17] v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
- Adolfo Daniel Vallejo v Gael Monfils
- Nuno Borges v Learner Tien [14]
- Taylor Fritz [9] v Darwin Blanch
- Mattia Bellucci v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Camilo Ugo Carabelli v Jan-Lennard Struff
- Filip Misolic v Francisco Cerundolo [24]
- Alexander Blockx [28] v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Juncheng Shang v Marco Trungelliti
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Francisco Comesana v Flavio Cobolli [5]
Bottom Half
- Daniil Medvedev [7] v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Sebastian Gorzny v Raphael Collignon
- Jaume Munar v Terence Atmane
- Sho Shimabukuro v Arthur Rinderknech [26]
- Valentin Vacherot [22] v Aleksandar Kovacevic
- Kamil Majchrzak v Hamad Medjedovic
- Aleksandar Vukic v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Martin Damm v Frances Tiafoe [11]
- Brandon Nakashima [16] v Sebastian Baez
- Alex Michelsen v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Daniel Merida v Marton Fucsovics
- Marin Cilic v Andrey Rublev [23]
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry [27] v Vit Kopriva
- Martin Landaluce v Qualifier/Lucky Loser
- Matteo Berrettini v Stan Wawrinka
- Mariano Navone v Novak Djokovic [4]
- Ben Shelton [8] v Tallon Griekspoor
- Damir Dzumhur v Hubert Hurkacz
- Miomir Kecmanovic v Denis Shapovalov
- Luca Van Assche v Cameron Norrie [29]
- Jiri Lehecka [18] v Pablo Carreno Busta
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Tomas Machac
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Jack Kennedy
- Stefanos Tsitsipas v Arthur Fils [10]
- Alexander Bublik [15] v Jeffrey John Wolf
- Thiago Agustin Tirante v Adrian Mannarino
- Dino Prizmic v Alexander Shevchenko
- Qualifier/Lucky Loser v Tommy Paul [20]
- Matteo Arnaldi [30] v James Duckworth
- Yibing Wu v Adam Walton
- Jaime Faria v Jenson Brooksby
- Roman Safiullin v Carlos Alcaraz [2]
Thoughts on the Draw
With Jannik Sinner forced to withdraw through injury, the men’s draw at the 2026 US Open looks considerably more open than it might have done a few weeks ago.
Alexander Zverev takes over as the top seed following an impressive Grand Slam season, but he’s had a bit of a slump recently, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returns after several months out with a wrist injury and most people think he looks out of shape.
Novak Djokovic is chasing the elusive 25th Grand Slam title, several Americans arrive in excellent form, and all five former US Open champions in the field have landed in the bottom half.
Here’s a look at the draw quarter by quarter.
First Quarter: Led by Alexander Zverev (1)
Seeded Players: Alexander Zverev (1), Alex de Minaur (6), Rafael Jodar (12), Lorenzo Musetti (13), Casper Ruud (19), Luciano Darderi (21), Alejandro Tabilo (25), Zizou Bergs (31)
Notable First-Round Matches
- Alexander Zverev (1) vs Lorenzo Sonego
- Rafael Jodar (12) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis
- Arthur Fery vs Lorenzo Musetti (13)
- Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Casper Ruud (19)
Analysis
On paper, Zverev should be pretty happy with this draw.
The German arrives in New York as the top seed after finally breaking his Grand Slam duck at Roland Garros and then backing it up by reaching the Wimbledon final.
He has gone 18-2 at the majors this year and, with Sinner absent and Alcaraz returning from a lengthy injury layoff, this is a decent opportunity, and he’s played well in New York before.
However, his form in Montreal and Cincy wasn’t particularly convincing, and Lorenzo Sonego isn’t the easiest first-round opponent.
You’d think Zverev should have too much for the Italian over five sets, and his projected route of Tabilo, Musetti and De Minaur looks manageable.
Outside of that, the most interesting player in this quarter is probably Rafael Jodar.
The young Spaniard is now seeded 12th after his speedy rise, and his opening match against Thanasi Kokkinakis should give us a good indication of what he can do in New York.
Unlike at Wimbledon, there shouldn’t be any questions about whether the surface suits him. Hard courts are far more familiar territory, and if he gets through Kokkinakis, there’s a makeable route to the fourth round.
Lorenzo Musetti occupies the other part of Zverev’s section but has a tricky opener against Britain’s Arthur Fery, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals earlier this summer.
I don’t think Fery is a complete flash in the pan, and he’s playing some decent stuff in Winston-Salem as I write, so an upset isn’t unthinkable.
At the bottom of the quarter, Alex de Minaur looks the obvious favourite to reach the last eight based on ranking, but he’s lost a few matches lately that you wouldn’t have expected.
Casper Ruud is the other established name, but I don’t really like what I’ve seen of him lately, and he doesn’t seem to hold serve easily; his section, featuring Zizou Bergs and Botic van de Zandschulp, isn’t straightforward.
Second Quarter: Led by Felix Auger-Aliassime (3)
Seeded Players: Felix Auger-Aliassime (3), Flavio Cobolli (5), Taylor Fritz (9), Learner Tien (14), Jakub Mensik (17), Francisco Cerundolo (24), Alexander Blockx (28), Ignacio Buse (32)
Notable First-Round Matches
- Felix Auger-Aliassime (3) vs Rinky Hijikata
- Adolfo Daniel Vallejo vs Gael Monfils
- Taylor Fritz (9) vs Darwin Blanch
- Francisco Comesana vs Flavio Cobolli (5)
Analysis
Felix Auger-Aliassime is the highest seed, but there are several players here who will fancy their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
The Canadian starts against Rinky Hijikata and has a reasonable route on paper, although his section includes Jakub Mensik and Learner Tien, two players capable of causing serious problems on hard courts.
Tien has enjoyed an excellent season, reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals, making another last-eight run at Indian Wells, and reaching the Montreal semi-finals.
He has the sort of game that can frustrate more powerful opponents, and his potential fourth-round match against Auger-Aliassime could be one of the more interesting encounters of the second week.
There is also Gael Monfils, who is playing the final Grand Slam tournament of his career before retirement. At 39, expecting a deep run seems unlikely, but you never know if he’s got one more night session in him where he upsets the apple cart.
The bottom section sees Taylor Fritz arrive after an excellent North American summer, winning in Washington, and he also knows exactly what it takes to go deep here after reaching the 2024 final.
His opener against 18-year-old Darwin Blanch, who seems to be highly proficient at receiving wild cards, should be straightforward, and a fourth-round meeting with Flavio Cobolli looks the most likely outcome.
Cobolli is the higher seed, but Fritz’s US Open pedigree makes him the favourite in my book, and I think he probably has the best chance among the American contingent.
Alexander Blockx and Francisco Cerundolo are also lurking, but this looks like a big opportunity for the American.
Third Quarter: Led by Novak Djokovic (4)
Seeded Players: Novak Djokovic (4), Daniil Medvedev (7), Frances Tiafoe (11), Brandon Nakashima (16), Valentin Vacherot (22), Andrey Rublev (23), Arthur Rinderknech (26), Tomas Martin Etcheverry (27)
Notable First-Round Matches
- Marin Cilic vs Andrey Rublev (23)
- Matteo Berrettini vs Stan Wawrinka
- Mariano Navone vs Novak Djokovic (4)
- Martin Damm vs Frances Tiafoe (11)
Analysis
This is easily the most interesting quarter in the draw.
Four former US Open champions are packed into it: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka.
Add two in-form Americans in Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima, and there are interesting matches almost everywhere you look.
Djokovic has to view this tournament as a major opportunity, with Sinner absent and Alcaraz arriving after a long injury layoff; one of the two biggest obstacles to number 25 has disappeared before a ball is struck.
Sinner has become one of his most difficult opponents, winning five of their past six meetings, including a straight-sets victory in the Wimbledon semi-finals, so that’s a huge boost for his chances.
Djokovic begins against Mariano Navone and should be expected to progress, as Navone is bang average on hard courts (not sure how he beat Berrettini in Montreal).
Round two could be where things get much more interesting. Matteo Berrettini faces Stan Wawrinka in one of the standout first-round matches, with the winner drawn to meet Djokovic.
For Wawrinka, this is the final major of his career, ten years after he won the 2016 US Open, where he defeated Djokovic in the final.
A final title challenge at 41 is unrealistic, but one last night-session meeting with Djokovic in New York would be some occasion, and I think he can beat Berrettini as he could have done so at Wimbledon (4 close sets) on by far his weakest surface
Before Djokovic can think about the quarter-finals, Brandon Nakashima could also be waiting in the fourth round, and the American has arguably produced the best hard-court stretch of his career over the past few weeks. Boring as hell to watch, but he’s super solid and definitely not easy to put away.
He reached his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal, losing to Ben Shelton, then immediately backed that up by reaching the Cincinnati semi-finals.
The other half of the quarter centres around Daniil Medvedev and Frances Tiafoe.
Medvedev starts against a qualifier or lucky loser, but Arthur Rinderknech is a possible third-round opponent before Tiafoe potentially waits in the fourth.
Tiafoe comes into New York on the back of reaching his second Cincinnati Masters final. Whereas Medvedev comes in after a string of early losses, his most recent in Winston-Salem, where he was contemplating switching to pickleball as tennis sucks 😁
Big Foe defeated three top-20 opponents during Cincy before losing to Arthur Fils in the championship match, and few players seem to gain more from the New York crowd
Tiafoe reached the US Open semi-finals in both 2022 and 2024, and his combination of athleticism, shotmaking and showmanship makes him particularly dangerous here.
Marin Cilic also deserves a mention. The 2014 champion begins against Andrey Rublev, giving this quarter yet another excellent first-round contest, and I think he can win that too as Rublev is also in garbage form.
Fourth Quarter: Led by Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Seeded Players: Carlos Alcaraz (2), Ben Shelton (8), Arthur Fils (10), Alexander Bublik (15), Jiri Lehecka (18), Tommy Paul (20), Cameron Norrie (29), Matteo Arnaldi (30)
Notable First-Round Matches
- Roman Safiullin vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)
- Ben Shelton (8) vs Tallon Griekspoor
- Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Arthur Fils (10)
- Luca Van Assche vs Cameron Norrie (29)
Analysis
Ordinarily, Carlos Alcaraz would be the overwhelming favourite to come through it. But given that he hasn’t struck a ball in anger for several months, nobody can be entirely sure.
The defending champion has not played a competitive singles match since April after suffering a wrist injury during the European clay swing.
So going straight from more than four months without matchplay into best-of-five tennis at a Grand Slam is a significant ask.
Federer managed it at the Aus Open in 2017 (ok, he played 3 singles matches at the Hopman Cup, but Alcaraz also played Mixed Doubles, so I think the comparison is valid), so we’ll see if the Spaniard is made of similar stuff.
To top it off, his first-round opponent is hardly ideal. Roman Safiullin has a 1-1 record against the Spaniard and produced one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated Alcaraz in straight sets at the 2023 Paris Masters.
Alcaraz will still be a heavy favourite, but if his game is rusty, Safiullin has enough power off both wings to expose it.
His projected route includes Matteo Arnaldi in round three, then a possible fourth-round meeting with either Alexander Bublik or Tommy Paul. That is not an easy return to competition.
On the other side of the quarter is one of the pre-tournament favourites, with Ben Shelton arriving as the highest-ranked American and with four titles already this season.
He won Dallas in February, became the first American man since Andre Agassi to win the Munich title in April, beat Fritz to win Stuttgart on grass, and then successfully defended his Canadian Masters crown by winning Montreal.
He did not drop a set during his six-match Montreal run, defeating Brandon Nakashima in the final. Shelton begins against Tallon Griekspoor and could face Cameron Norrie in the third round. Not easy but more than doable.
Arthur Fils may be his biggest obstacle before the quarter-finals. The Frenchman arrives as the Cincinnati champion after beating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in the final to claim his first Masters 1000 title.
Fils also beat Alex de Minaur and Flavio Cobolli during the tournament and has now climbed to a career-high ranking just outside the top ten.
His first-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas is probably the pick of the opening round. Tsitsipas is a two-time Grand Slam finalist and former world number three, but his trajectory has been in the exact opposite direction of Fils.
On current form, the Greek has no chance; he lost to Kovacevic in Winston-Salem yesterday, and I wouldn’t even be convinced he’d beat someone playing with a stick of rhubarb instead of a racket.
Jiri Lehecka is also in that section, meaning Shelton could potentially have to come through Norrie and then either Lehecka or Fils just to reach the quarter-finals.
If Alcaraz is anywhere near what he normally produces, I’d still make him the favourite as I just don’t think the level is that high on tour right now.
Best First-Round Matches to Watch
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Arthur Fils (10) – This might have been great 4 years ago, but in 2026 I am not sure. Fils arrives directly from the biggest title of his career, beating Tiafoe to win Cincinnati, while Tsitsipas hasn’t had a big win in a long time.
Matteo Berrettini vs Stan Wawrinka – Wawrinka is playing the final Grand Slam of his career ten years after winning the US Open, while Berrettini possesses enough serve and forehand firepower to trouble almost anyone. The winner is likely to face Djokovic.
Roman Safiullin vs Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz’s first competitive singles match since April comes against somebody who has already beaten him. Safiullin defeated the Spaniard in straight sets at the 2023 Paris Masters and should at least provide an immediate test of Alcaraz’s timing and wrist.
Marin Cilic vs Andrey Rublev (23) – The 2014 US Open champion against one of the tour’s biggest ball-strikers. Cilic is now 37, but his serve and first-strike tennis remain, while Rublev is on a rankings slide.
Rafael Jodar (12) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis – Jodar has gone from exciting prospect to genuine top-level player remarkably quickly. He reached the Washington final and Montreal semi-finals during the North American swing, but Kokkinakis has the serve and power to make this an uncomfortable opener; ultimately, he’ll probably lose in five sets.
Arthur Fery vs Lorenzo Musetti (13) – Fery was the surprise package at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals as a wild card, while Musetti reached the US Open quarter-finals last year. This should tell us plenty about whether Fery’s Wimbledon breakthrough
