The US Open begins on Sunday, August 30, and will finish with the women's final on Saturday, September 12, and the men's final on Sunday, September 13. What happens in between will be must-watch for tennis fans.
What we know before the final major of the year begins is that Jannik Sinner will play. He will have only won one Grand Slam all year, and that was Wimbledon. Carlos Alcaraz is expected to play, and he has taken a title at just one major himself. The weird part is that Sinner and Alcaraz didn't play each other in the final of a major.
Is tennis changing? Not really. Sinner and Alcaraz have simply been injured at various points. Alcaraz hasn't played since April after hurting his wrist at the Barcelona Open. Sinner has a knee injury and has played only once since the French Open (which was Wimbledon).
Five somewhat bold predictions for the 2026 US Open
Alcaraz and Sinner playing is known, though. The potential fun part is in not knowing what will unfold in the next two weeks.
Likely wrong prediction No. 1 - Stan Wawrinka defeats Matteo Berrettini in the first round
What a terrible match to do to tennis fans. Wawrinka is retiring and barely got into the US Open. He only received a wild card in the days leading up to the event. Many will want him to make a deep run at the tournament.
The issue is Berrettini is a fan favorite who many also want to make a deep push in New York. Only one can, and in something of an upset, the 41-year-old, three-time Grand Slam winner will win, only to lose in the second round to 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic.
Likely wrong prediction No. 2 - Alex Eala loses to Coco Gauff in the fourth round
Eala shouldn't have too many issues in the first three rounds, but that stops abruptly against a player many are picking to win the major, Coco Gauff. Gauff has won in New York (2023), but lost in the fourth round in each of the past two years.
Eala has the groundstrokes and will power to give Gauff issues, and defeated the American at Indian Wells earlier this year. Gauff wasn't completely healthy, though, so the US Open should have a different outcome.
Likely wrong prediction No. 3 - Arthur Fils defeats Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals
Fils is beginning to ascend to the type of player he has hinted that he could be for years. He has reached two Masters 1000 semifinals and won the Cincinnati Open. He appears to have figured out how to match his bombastic groundstrokes with intelligent tennis.
Alcaraz won't be in top form, even by the quarters. He has missed too many months, and starting back on the hard courts of New York in best-of-five matches isn't easy. His first few matches likely won't test him, but Fils will.
Likely wrong prediction No. 4 - Aryna Sabalenka makes the final but loses to Gauff
Sabalenka ends and begins every year with high-end success, which is one reason she has been able to hold on to WTA No. 1 despite not winning a Grand Slam this year and not having made it past the fourth round in her last three WTA 1000s. Still, she's made three straight finals in New York and won the last two.
Gauff knows she can defeat the Belarusian at the US Open, though. The American won their final in 2023 with splendid defensive tennis. She will rinse and repeat that match in the 2026 final.
Likely wrong prediction No. 5 - Novak Djokovic wins Grand Slam No. 25
No one should believe Djokovic will win another major. He is still a tremendous player, of course. He made the semis in all of the four majors in 2025, and reached the final of the Australian Open this year. His issue recently has been trying to win a major by defeating both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and with the Italian out, that isn't an issue in New York.
Djokovic also struggled physically at the Cincinnati Open, but no one in the history of sports has come back to win when no one expected him to, as much as the Serbian. He will make the last Grand Slam of 2026 one to remember forever.
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