With almost a century and a half of tradition, the US Open is one of the four Grand Slams that draws the world’s best players to New York City each summer. Matches are played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, home of Arthur Ashe Stadium and a host of other outdoor courts. It’s a great venue to see major stars in action and the tournament has a history of introducing changes that have become standard for the sport, such as the introduction of mixed doubles in 1978 and the move to play finals on a Monday rather than a Sunday in 2023.
This year’s tournament begins with the revamped format for mixed doubles, which takes place over two days and has been shifted to the start of the week before singles matches begin. The men’s and women’s singles championships are set for Sept. 7 and 8.
Reigning men’s champion Jannik Sinner is the top seed in the main draw and he will open against Slovakian qualifier Vit Kopriva on Tuesday. He could face Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals if they both advance and they would meet for the third time in a grand slam final (Sinner won at Wimbledon, Alcaraz took the title at the French Open).
In the women’s championships, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to defend her title against American Amanda Anisimova, who beat Coco Gauff in the final of the US Open last month and reached two other Grand Slam semifinals this year (but lost to Madison Keyes at the Australian Open and Naomi Osaka in the French Open). The men’s champion will be determined by the winner of an intriguing battle between Canadian underdog Felix Auger-Aliassime and world No. 8 Marcel Granollers.