Ten Players to Watch at the 2026 US Open
Senior writer Jon Wertheim breaks down the five men and five women to watch at the 2026 US Open.
Video Transcript
Jon Wertheim with Sports Illustrated here.
The 2026 US Open is upon us.
Let's look at the men's side.
Five players to watch coming into this event, the fourth major of the calendar year.
Let's start with Carlos Alcaraz, who is the defending champion.
He won the previous hard court major in Australia earlier this year, but he has been out of action since April with a wrist injury.
This is his first event back.
Best of five tennis.
New York conditions.
Defending champion, a lot of pressure, but he might well be the favorite despite this absence.
Player number 2, Alexander Zverev, won the French Open.
Roland Garros earlier this year.
He will be the first seed with the absence of Yannik Sinner.
Zverev now going for his 2nd major of the summer.
Can he do it?
He was a finalist here during COVID 6 years ago, didn't quite get across the line.
Now that he's won a major, does he have that confidence?
Player.
Number 3, let's go with an American.
How about Ben Shelton, who won in Canada last month on the hard courts?
He's looking very strong coming into this tournament.
How about for 1/4 player?
What about Novak Djokovic?
Remember him?
39 years old, 24 majors, going for a record 25th.
That would be all time, men or women.
He has played very well at majors, but he's only played 20 matches all year.
He has not won a title in 2026, and He is 39 years old.
Does he have one last hurrah?
This might well be it.
And then number 5, keep an eye on Arthur Fies, 22 years old, from France, just won in Cincinnati last week, the biggest title of his career.
He has flash.
He has substance.
He has a serve.
He has a forehand.
He has a real shot of winning this tournament.
It would be the biggest title of his career and his first major.
Who are 5 players to watch on the women's side ?
We'll tell you.
Keep an eye on the defending champion, the two.
Defending champion, almost 3 time defending champion.
She's also the number 1 seed.
It's Serena Sabalenka.
She comes in looking for her first major of the year, however, and has been slumping of late.
Can she break her slump and salvage her season as she did in 2025 by winning the US Open, or will this be a disappointing year?
She's playing for a lot.
Keep an eye on number 2.
How about Jess Pegula, the 32-year-old American does everything right, and she has won everything save a major.
Won a major yet.
Got to the finals two years ago.
Is this the tournament when she breaks through and wins that first major?
Iga Svantek of Poland won this event.
Hard to believe 4 years ago she can play on hard courts.
She won in Canada just a few weeks ago.
What is the state of her game going for her first major of the season, but a very nice push recently this summer.
Can she keep it up in New York?
How about Coco Goff?
She's our favorite.
She won here 3 years ago.
She just won in Cincinnati, Ohio a few days ago.
She's playing better than anyone, comes in with confidence.
Look for her to win her second title in New York.
And then finally, keep an eye on Alexandra Ayala of the Philippines, a wildly popular player because of her nature and her nation of origin.
She's only 21 years old.
She's already in the top 20.
She won in Washington DC.
It would be a huge story if she won her first major in New York.
