US Open

Tournament basics

US Open 2026 dates: August 31 - September 13. Surface: hard (DecoTurf II, laid 2024). Draw size: 128 men's and 128 women's singles. Total prize pool: $65 million; the singles champions take home $3.6 million each. Qualifying begins the Monday before main-draw.

Draw path watch

Defending men's champion: Jannik Sinner (won 2025 in straight sets against Taylor Fritz). Defending women's champion: Aryna Sabalenka (won 2025 against Jessica Pegula). The men's draw features Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev in the top eight seeds.

Hard-court form is the leading indicator at the DecoTurf surface. Average rally length at the US Open in 2025: 4.5 shots. The surface rewards baseline aggression and big first serves; the night session at Arthur Ashe has historically favoured the bigger ball-strikers.

Surface notes

DecoTurf hard courts produce the highest rally lengths of any surface (4.5 shots at the 2025 US Open). Service holds: 78%. Baseline rallies dominate; serve-and-volley is rare. The ball bounces true; topspin and slice both work effectively. Night sessions at Arthur Ashe can be slower due to lower temperatures.

Seeds and venues

Men's seeds: 1. Sinner, 2. Alcaraz, 3. Djokovic, 4. Zverev, 5. Medvedev, 6. Rublev, 7. Fritz, 8. Ruud. Women's seeds: 1. Sabalenka, 2. Swiatek, 3. Rybakina, 4. Gauff, 5. Pegula, 6. Zheng, 7. Jabeur, 8. Vondrousova. Main courts: Arthur Ashe (23,771 capacity), Louis Armstrong (14,053), Grandstand (8,125). The new Armstrong roof opens for 2026.

Editor's note

The desk's coverage starts two weeks before the tournament with seed-by-seed reads, then moves to daily draws from the Sunday before the first round. Refresh cadence: every 30 minutes during matches. Coverage note: heat policy is the standard '10-minute break between second and third sets' when wet-bulb exceeds 30°C; Arthur Ashe's retractable roof has been operational since 2016.