Three weeks, a whole bunch of matches and sufficient plot twists to fill a season. With one other US Open within the books, listed below are 26 ideas on an unforgettable 2026 version in New York.
1. Rybakina’s Double
Elena Rybakina didn’t simply win the title, she rose to World No. 1 within the course of. She received three consecutive three-setters to shut the match and turn into a three-time main champion, bookending a season that started together with her Australian Open triumph. From damage doubts earlier than the match to the highest of the tennis world — fairly a turnaround.
2. Zverev’s Finest Season
Alexander Zverev finishes the Grand Slam season together with his second main title, additional proof that lastly breaking via at Roland Garros modified every part. After needing 41 Grand Slam appearances to win his first, he didn’t have to attend almost as lengthy for No. 2.
3. Shelton Rises, However Can’t Break the Curse
Ben Shelton had a breakout match and got here inside one victory of ending the lengthy look ahead to an American males’s Grand Slam champion. The 23-year-old couldn’t get previous Zverev within the last, that means Andy Roddick stays the final American man to win a significant, on the 2003 US Open. Shelton’s efficiency, nonetheless, offered extra cause to consider the drought might finish quickly.
4. Townsend’s Milestone
Taylor Townsend accomplished the profession Grand Slam in girls’s doubles on the match which means maybe extra to her than every other. Successful the US Open with Katerina Siniakova gave Townsend the one main trophy lacking from her assortment — and one other career-defining second on dwelling soil.
Kudos to her accomplice as effectively. Siniakova has now accomplished the Profession Slam not as soon as however twice!
5. 5 American Champions
The People didn’t seize a singles crown, however there was loads of homegrown {hardware}. Marcel Latak stormed to the boys’ singles title, the Penickova sisters captured ladies’ doubles, whereas Townsend and Christian Harrison had been among the many American champions in doubles. 5 American champions in all made positive the host nation had a lot to have fun.
6. Terrific Tuesday
Was this the wildest day of the match? 4 quarterfinals on Arthur Ashe Stadium produced 4 deciding units and three match tiebreaks. After 13 hours and 47 minutes of unbelievable tennis, Ben Shelton lastly knocked off Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m. — on Wednesday. Solely on the US Open.
7. Carlos Returns
Carlos Alcaraz finally fell brief, dropping to Shelton in that unforgettable quarterfinal, however his return after 4 and a half months away gave the match an unlimited jolt. Tennis is just extra electrical when Alcaraz is a part of the equation.
8. Fan Week Delivers
The very best worth on the US Open stays Fan Week. Free admission gave followers entry to a qualifying match that includes 11 former Grand Slam quarterfinalists and 4 former main finalists. The names had been huge, the stakes had been actual and the grounds had been already buzzing earlier than the primary draw even started.
9. Foe Exhibits His Coronary heart
Frances Tiafoe confirmed what he was manufactured from in additional methods than one. He rallied from two units all the way down to defeat Alex Michelsen within the quarterfinals, then offered one of many match’s most touching photographs when he consoled his sobbing buddy afterward. Fierce competitors and real compassion can coexist.
10. From Qualifying to the Quarters
Zheng Qinwen put in 14 hours and 47 minutes of onerous labor to achieve the quarterfinals from qualifying. Alongside the best way got here a exceptional escape in opposition to Madison Keys from 5-0 down within the third set and one other large upset of Iga Swiatek. After a tough street again, the previous World No. 4 confirmed that she is quickly climbing once more.
11. Blended Masters
Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova rose to the highest of a star-studded blended doubles area that included six former Grand Slam singles champions — to not point out the virtually surreal pairing of Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams. The revamped occasion actually didn’t lack star energy.
12. Ram Says Farewell
American doubles legend Rajeev Ram bid an emotional farewell after his document twenty sixth consecutive US Open males’s doubles look ended with a semifinal run. Ram and longtime accomplice Joe Salisbury depart their very own particular mark on match historical past as the one males’s doubles group to finish a US Open three-peat.
13. The Finest Boys’ Singles Remaining Ever?
Marcel Latak’s path to the boys’ title was ridiculous. The unseeded American defeated the No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 10 seeds, ending the run by taking down top-ranked Brazilian Guto Miguel in a panoramic last. Latak saved three championship factors earlier than changing his fifth. If there was a greater US Open boys’ last, we’d prefer to see it.
14. Solar Xinran Will get It Carried out
After reaching three consecutive Grand Slam ladies’ singles finals, China’s Solar Xinran lastly completed the job in New York. Persistence rewarded, and a becoming ending to a rare season of consistency on the majors.
15. Monfils Magic
Gael Monfils received a match on his fortieth birthday, changing into the oldest man to win a US Open singles match since Jimmy Connors in 1992. Doing it in his last US Open look made the second even sweeter. There’ll by no means be one other La Monf.
16. Stan the Man
Stan Wawrinka additionally stated farewell to New York, falling to Matteo Berrettini in three units on a jam-packed Grandstand on Day 2. The end result nearly felt secondary. The ambiance was unforgettable as New York gave a three-time Grand Slam champion a sendoff worthy of his profession.
17. People Thrived in Week One
Of the 41 People who contested the singles most important attracts, 10 reached the second week — essentially the most since 2002. For years American tennis has been ready for its depth to translate onto the Grand Slam stage. In New York, it did.
18. 4 People Into the Semis
There have been no American singles champions, however half of the semifinalists had been from the USA: Tiafoe, Shelton, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Two males, two girls, one very sturdy assertion in regards to the present well being of American tennis.
19. Tiafoe Owns Armstrong
Frances Tiafoe improved to a exceptional 10-0 lifetime on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Arthur Ashe could be the largest stage in tennis, however Armstrong has turn into Foe’s dwelling away from dwelling in Queens. At this level, opponents would possibly need to request a courtroom change.
20. A Tribute to Ashe
Shelton grew to become the primary Black American man to achieve the US Open singles last since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Greater than half a century later, doing it on the stadium that bears Ashe’s identify gave Shelton’s breakthrough one other layer of that means.
21. Nonetheless No Title Protection
The US Open males’s singles title stays the toughest main crown to defend. No man has efficiently completed it since Roger Federer accomplished his run of 5 consecutive championships in 2008. Eighteen years and counting.
22. The Three-Peat Is a No-Go
Aryna Sabalenka got here inside one victory of historical past, however Rybakina ended her bid for a 3rd consecutive US Open title within the last. No girl has accomplished the New York three-peat since Serena Williams in 2014, and solely two girls have managed it within the Open Period. Sabalenka found simply how tough becoming a member of that membership will be.
23. Youth Was Served in New York
Six gamers aged 21 or youthful — Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, Iva Jovic, Alexander Blockx, Learner Tien and Arthur Gea — reached the second week. Some are already established names, others are solely starting to reach. Collectively, they provided one other glimpse on the sport’s subsequent wave.
24. $108 Million
The richest purse in US Open historical past totaled $108 million, with the singles champions every incomes $5.5 million. After gamers pushed the Grand Slams for a better share of match revenues earlier within the season, the US Open’s document payout was warmly acquired. The dialog about how tennis distributes its wealth isn’t over, however New York made a big transfer.
25. Wager to Win
The US Open’s partnership with prediction market Kalshi, introduced throughout the match, generated loads of consideration — and raised some uncomfortable questions. At a time when tennis is more and more confronting the results of playing on gamers, together with on-line abuse from indignant bettors, the connection between the game and wagering continues to turn into extra difficult. The cash could also be enticing, however so is the necessity for a critical dialog about the place the road must be drawn.
26. Solely in New York
How do you sum up this US Open? Perhaps you don’t.
There have been 3 a.m. finishes and overflowing grounds, epic comebacks and painful collapses, tearful farewells and first-time breakthroughs. There have been legends saying goodbye, younger gamers asserting themselves and champions surviving one unimaginable scenario after one other.
However greater than something, there have been the followers.
They packed Ashe and Armstrong, squeezed into each accessible seat on the outer courts and stayed deep into the night time when any cheap individual would have gone dwelling hours earlier. They cheered, groaned, roared and sometimes drove the gamers loopy. They gave the match its pulse.
The US Open has at all times been a little bit louder, later and crazier than in all places else. In 2026, it felt like all of that was turned up one other notch.
The tennis gave them a lot to have fun. The followers made it unforgettable.
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