US Wide Open

Who's actually playing in the US Open this year?  I say that only half-jokingly.  Because a lot of the talk heading into the year's final Grand Slam was about who's not playing.  A number of top women were already out when Jannik Sinner announced that he would also miss the US Open due to injury.  There was also a lot of talk about two tennis legends who returned.  But Roger Federer was only passing through to play an exhibition match on his way to his Hall of Fame induction and Serena Williams is only playing doubles (both mixed and women's with Venus).

Speaking of mixed doubles, it sadly looks like that ridiculous format is here to stay.  I kind of get what they're trying to do, but it somehow manages to feature mixed doubles and make it feel less important at the same time.  I will say that this year it was at least a little bit better.  They had a qualifying tournament for the final two spots, giving actual doubles players who need the money and rankings points that a Grand Slam title would bring a chance to actually play mixed doubles instead of just limiting it to singles players who don't need the payday.

But I digress.  And the mixed doubles tournament did give us a few really enjoyable pairings.  The husband/wife team of Gael Monfils and Elena Svitolina, playing together one last time before Monfils retires at the end of the year.  Serena and Carlos Alcaraz, who did the opposite and is back from injury after missing both the French Open & Wimbledon.  Then there was my favorite pairing of them all--Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic.

They lost in the first round (to actual doubles players), but that was just the start of what could be a very special tournament for both of them.  Sabalenka is the best hardcourt player in the game and the two-time defending champion.  She's also for redemption after seeing her Grand Slam quarterfinal streak end with a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon.  Look out rest of the women's draw!

As for Djokovic, his record-tying 24th Grand Slam title came here three years ago.  In the 11 Grand Slams since, he's lost in the final twice (both times against Alcaraz) and made six other semifinals, losing four of those to Sinner (and another when he retired after the first set against Zverev).  So, it's not that Djokovic has lost a step.  He just has a bit of an issue with Sinner and Alcaraz.  Well, Sinner's not there.  Although, he does have to deal with Alcaraz in a loaded bottom half of the draw.

A Djokovic win wouldn't just give him a record 25th.  It would also cause something that hasn't happened since 2003--four different men's Grand Slam champions in the same year.  There's also a chance we could have four different women's Grand Slam winners this year, too, which would actually be the second straight time that happened (and the eighth time in 10 years since Serena's near-Grand Slam in 2015, not counting 2020, when Wimbledon was cancelled).  In fact, there have been seven different women's Grand Slam champions in the last seven tournaments.  Will the US Open make it eight?

Of course, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz would have something to say about that four different Grand Slam champions this year thing.  It was at the US Open where Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title in 2022.  And Zverev should've won his first Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open.  Oh, how different his career would've been had he not blown that two set lead against Dominic Thiem in the final!  Well, now Zverev IS a Grand Slam champion.  And he has to be considered one of the favorites, if not THE favorite.

With Sinner not in the field, Zverev is the No. 1 seed.  And we've already seen the impact of finally winning a Slam on his career.  Grass is his worst surface.  He lost in the first round at Wimbledon last year.  This year, he made the final and took the first set off Sinner.  Most of the other big names are on the other side of the bracket, so it's very likely we'll see a deep run from Zverev.  Maybe even that long elusive US Open title.

Alcaraz is the defending champion, though.  Last year, he ended the string of seven straight years without a repeat winner.  Alcaraz followed that up with his first Australian Open title, then missed several months with an injury.  That's why I'm not entirely sold on him winning seven matches.  Alcaraz wasn't certain he'd make it back in time for the US Open, and he only announced his return right before the start of mixed doubles.  Of course, he wouldn't be playing if he didn't feel like he had a chance to win.  This might be Djokovic's best opportunity to beat him in a while, though.

Djokovic isn't the only candidate who can give us four men's Grand Slam champions this year.  It's been 23 years since Andy Roddick's victory, which is still the last Grand Slam title by any American man.  Will this be the tournament when that streak finally ends?  The Djokovic/Alcaraz side of the draw features two outstanding American names--Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, as well as Tommy Paul.  The potential quarterfinals on that side are Tiafoe vs. Djokovic and Shelton vs. Alcaraz.  What a great ticket to have if you can get it!

While this might be one of the most unpredictable men's Grand Slams in recent memory, one of the most predictable things about women's tennis is that it's unpredictable.  Especially this year.  Both Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have won a Grand Slam every year since 2023.  This year, one of them won't.  There's potential that neither will.  Although, they're on opposite sides of the draw, so just picture what it'll be like if the two of them both make it to the final.

None of this year's women's Grand Slam champions have ever made it to the second week at the US Open.  I'm not saying that won't happen.  It would just be surprising if it did.  So, it seems likely that we will get a fourth different Grand Slam women's champion this year.  The real question is whether we'll make it eight in a row or if Sabalenka or Swiatek can keep her individual Grand Slam streak going.

Don't forget about Naomi Osaka, though.  She's won the US Open twice and made the semifinals last year, which started a resurgence she's carried over into 2026.  Coco Gauff's breakthrough Grand Slam title came at the 2023 US Open, and she was a semifinalist at Wimbledon this year.  Gauff and Osaka are in the same half of the draw as Swiatek, so whoever comes out of that section will be battle-tested.

And Serena's return was well-publicized for good reason, but how about Venus Williams?!  She's playing in her 26th US Open at the age of 46!  No one expects much of anything from her.  She hasn't won a Grand Slam singles match since 2021 and her last win at the US Open was in 2019.  So what?  The fact that she's still playing at 46 is remarkable.  And we never know which US Open will be her last.  So, let's savor it while we can.

Venus may or may not be retiring after this year.  There are a couple men who we know definitely are, though.  One is 2016 US Open champ Stan Wawrinka, who could play Djokovic in a rematch of that 2016 final in the second round.  The other is Gael Monfils, who was given a wild card so that he can make one last Grand Slam appearance.  Monfils' best ever US Open result?  A semifinal appearance.  In 2016!  We'll say goodbye to both of those legends (and perhaps all three) during the first week before we get down to the nitty gritty.

Once we get to finals weekend, I just keep coming back to that mixed doubles team.  Djokovic and Sabalenka might've gone out in the first round of mixed doubles, but they could both still end up lifting trophies at the end.  Call me crazy, but I like them both to win the title.  Sabalenka makes it three in a row, while Djokovic finally gets number 25.