{"id":59805,"date":"2026-08-29T15:22:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/59805\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T15:22:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:22:18","slug":"2026-u-s-open-can-anyone-unseat-alcaraz-or-sabalenka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/59805\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 U.S. Open: Can anyone unseat Alcaraz or Sabalenka?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Open<\/a> begins in earnest Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> and Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> out to defend their crowns in Queens.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s singles tournament at Flushing Meadows is a little shorter on star power than usual, but there is still no shortage of storylines leading up to the women\u2019s final on Sept. 12 and the men\u2019s final on Sept. 13.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know as the last grand slam event of the year gets underway at the UTSA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.<\/p>\n

ALL ABOUT ARYNA<\/p>\n

Sabalenka seeks to become the first women\u2019s player to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles since Serena Williams from 2012-14 and only the third in the modern era.<\/p>\n

Chris Evert won four in a row from 1975-78.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was growing up looking up to them, and I loved the way they dominated the tour,\u201d Sabalenka said of Evert and Williams. \u201cSo if I would be able to put my name kind of, like, slightly next to them, that means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka, 28, is the No. 1 player in the WTA rankings<\/a> and has advanced to the U.S. Open final in each of the previous three years.<\/p>\n

After losing in the 2023 final, Sabalenka defeated a pair of Americans \u2014 Jessica Pegula in 2024 and Amanda Anisimova last year \u2014 to hoist back-to-back trophies.<\/p>\n

The Belarusian-born Sabalenka seeks her fifth major championship overall, but she is yet to win one this year. She finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open in January before failing to make even the semifinals at Roland Garros or Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

CARLOS\u2019 COURT<\/p>\n

This has been a challenging year for Alcaraz, who\u2019s been out since April due to a right wrist injury.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old announced last week that he would return for the Open, an event he\u2019s won twice, including last year by defeating fellow tennis titan and rival Jannik Sinner in the final.<\/p>\n

The wrist injury caused Alcaraz to miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but the Spanish sensation still has a chance to win multiple majors this year, as he won the Australian Open in January.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz enters the Open as No. 3 in the ATP rankings<\/a>, behind Sinner and Alexander Zverev.<\/p>\n

But make no mistake, this is Alcaraz\u2019s tournament to lose \u2014 so long as he\u2019s able to overcome rust or any lingering health concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing to the U.S. Open, best-of-five [format] for the first one in such a long time, it\u2019s really challenging,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cProbably, in terms of preparation and everything, is not the best time. But we, my team and me, believe that I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NEWAryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz with their 2025 Open trophies. (Photo by Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images)
\nSINNER SIDELINED<\/p>\n

One of the reasons Alcaraz\u2019s path is so clear is that Sinner withdrew from this year\u2019s Open due to a right knee injury.<\/p>\n

The Italian-born Sinner \u2014 the 2024 U.S. Open champion \u2014 also missed the National Bank Open in Montreal and the Cincinnati Open due to the ailment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realized that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue,\u201d Sinner, 25, wrote last week on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m obviously very sad and disappointed, as New York has a special place in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinner met Alcaraz in the final round of three of the four grand slam tournaments last year, but due largely to their respective injuries, they will not face each other in a major final in 2026.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE DROUGHT<\/p>\n

With Sinner sidelined and Alcaraz coming off a long layoff, perhaps this is the year an American man finally reclaims the U.S. Open glory.<\/p>\n

The last man to win the U.S. Open men\u2019s singles title was Andy Roddick in 2003 \u2014 a drought approaching two and a half decades<\/a>. In fact, that\u2019s the last time an American man won any of the four Grand Slam tournaments.<\/p>\n

Much of that drought coincided with prolonged dominance by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who, at 39, is the only member of that trio still playing.<\/p>\n

Sinner and Alcaraz have since staked their claims as the sport\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same conversation. Still gotta beat seven guys, however way you slice it,\u201d said Frances Tiafoe, the Open\u2019s No. 11 seed and one of the top American players.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, doesn\u2019t really matter if those guys are in, those guys are not. \u2026 My mind says it\u2019s not really worried about any of those guys. Just trying to beat the guy in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiafoe is one of several U.S contenders. Ben Shelton, the No. 8 seed, was playing well last year before a shoulder injury abruptly ended his Open run<\/a> in the third round.<\/p>\n

Ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz advanced to the U.S. Open final in 2024.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also Learner Tien (No. 14), Brandon Nakashima (No. 16) and Tommy Paul (No. 20).<\/p>\n

It would take only one of them to break through.<\/p>\n

COCO MOMENTUM<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been three years since Coco Gauff, then 19, won the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

So much has transpired for the American star since then, including back-to-back fourth-round exits<\/a> at the 2024 and 2025 Opens. Last year, Gauff unveiled a new serve at the Open in an effort to cut down on the double faults that had plagued her.<\/p>\n

This year, Gauff arrives in Queens with a little more stability and much more momentum, having won the Cincinnati Open last weekend by defeating her countrywoman Pegula in the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was making a big change before probably the most important tournament of my season [last year], and there was a lot of pressure,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cBut I\u2019m really glad that I made the decision. I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t wait another second, because the progress is there, and I see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fourth-seeded Gauff, 22, should be one of the top contenders, as should the 32-year-old Pegula (No. 3), who still seeks her first Grand Slam title.<\/p>\n

\"NEWSerena Williams made her U.S. Open return during the mixed doubles tournament on Tuesday.(Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)
\nWELCOME BACK, WILLIAMS<\/p>\n

Months after making her return to professional tennis, the 44-year-old Williams isn\u2019t going to participate in the singles tournament at the Open, where she\u2019s a six-time champion.<\/p>\n

But fans still have a chance to revel in Serena\u2019s comeback, as she will compete in the doubles tournament<\/a> with her sister, Venus Williams, as a starry wild-card entry.<\/p>\n

The Williamses are 27-7 together in doubles matches at the Open and won the event together in 1999 and 2009.<\/p>\n

This will be their 10th time playing together at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

Serena also competed Tuesday in the Open\u2019s mixed doubles tournament with Alcaraz, and the big-name pair won a match before being eliminated in the quarterfinals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That marked Serena\u2019s first Open appearance since 2022, when her third-round exit appeared likely to be the end of her prolific career.<\/p>\n

Nearly four years later, Serena returned this summer, including playing singles at Wimbledon, where she suffered a first-round exit \u2014 and a knee injury \u2014 as a wild card.<\/p>\n

That knee continues to hamper Serena, whose manager told ESPN\u2019s Patrick McEnroe that she was close but not quite ready for singles at the Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The U.S. Open begins in earnest Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka out to defend their crowns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[14154,217,271,185,219,122],"class_list":["post-59805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-aryna-sabalenka","tag-2026-u-s-open","tag-aryna-sabalenka","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-coco-gauff","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-serena-williams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}