The defending champion Jannik Sinner has been given a fairly easy route to reach the US Open. Aryna Sabalenka is set to defend her title, but she has a tough path ahead after the match schedule was released on Thursday.
Sinner's fitness has been in the news lately because he left the Cincinnati final early this week when he was behind Carlos Alcaraz 5-0, and then he also quit the mixed doubles event in New York. The Italian will feel happy if the draw goes in his favor as he starts playing against the Czech player Vit Kopriva. His expected path through the tournament has him facing the fifth seed Jack Draper in the quarterfinals, the third seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, and maybe a final match against Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, the French Open champion, finds himself in a stacked bottom half. The Spaniard opens against American Reilly Opelka and could face Ben Shelton in the quarters and 2024 runner-up Taylor Fritz in the semis.
Novak Djokovic, chasing a fifth US Open crown, starts against Learner Tien. Seeded seventh, he is set to face Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round, then potentially take on Fritz in the quarter-finals, and could even meet Alcaraz in the semi-finals. In the women's event, top seed Sabalenka starts by playing against Rebeka Masarova, but she has a tough path ahead.
The Belarusian player might face Jasmine Paolini, who made it to the Cincinnati finals, in the quarters, Jessica Pegula in the semis, and Iga Swiatek, the Wimbledon champion, in the final. Swiatek, who just won in Cincinnati, is playing against Emiliana Arango from Colombia. She might face Amanda Anisimova again in the quarters, just like they did in a one-sided Wimbledon final earlier. French Open champion Coco Gauff, who is the third seed, might play against Australian Open winner Madison Keys in the quarterfinals, and there's a chance she could meet Swiatek next.
Among the eye-catching first-round fixtures, two-time champion Venus Williams, playing her first Grand Slam since the 2023 U.S. Open, will meet 11th seed Karolina Muchova. Naomi Osaka, seeded 23rd, takes on Belgium’s Greet Minnen, while 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, fresh off her breakthrough title in Montreal, faces Barbora Krejcikova.
The year’s final Grand Slam gets underway on Sunday, with both men’s and women’s champions set to receive $5 million each.
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