US Open Fan Week Starts August 24 Without Sinner as Serena Williams and Alcaraz Take a Mixed Doubles Wild Card
The world number one is out with a knee injury, which puts Zverev on top of the seeding. The main draw does not start until August 30, and player compensation has risen to a record $108 million.
Flushing Meadows opens on 24 August for qualifying and Fan Week, but the main draw does not begin until Sunday 30 August, running to 13 September. The draw ceremony is on Thursday 27 August, and seeding comes off today's rankings.
Sinner is out
Jannik Sinner, the world number one, has withdrawn with a right knee injury, announced on 21 August. That reshapes the top of the men's draw entirely.
Projected seeding puts Alexander Zverev first, ahead of Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev and Ben Shelton. Zverev rises to number two in Monday's rankings with Sinner out, and Alcaraz slips to three after shedding 2025 Cincinnati points.
On the women's side: Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek. Gauff's Cincinnati title could still move her seed.
Both defending champions, Alcaraz and Sabalenka, are playing. Alcaraz returns from a right wrist injury.
The mixed doubles is the week's story
The reworked 16-team mixed doubles runs 24-26 August, ahead of the singles, with matches to four games, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tie-break through the semi-finals. The winners split $1 million.
Serena Williams will partner Carlos Alcaraz on a wild card, confirmed by the tournament on 22 August. She is not entered in singles. Other pairings include Sabalenka with Djokovic, Swiatek with Ruud, Osaka with Nishikori and Pegula with Draper, with Errani and Vavassori defending.
Record money, and the form guide
Player compensation is up 20 per cent to $108 million, with $5.5 million to each singles champion and $2.8 million to the runners-up - the largest purse in tennis.
The lead-in went to outsiders. Arthur Fils beat Frances Tiafoe in three sets to win Cincinnati and his first Masters 1000 title, with both top seeds out in the last 16. Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula for the women's title, the first all-American Cincinnati final in 56 years. Earlier in August, Ben Shelton retained the National Bank Open in Montreal without dropping a set and Iga Swiatek beat Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in Toronto for her first title of 2026.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash prices the US Open with outright winner, to-reach-the-final, quarter-by-quarter and each-way markets on both singles draws, plus match winner, set betting, total games and tie-break markets on every match once the draw is made on 27 August. Mixed doubles outrights are live from today.
Schedule, withdrawals, prize money and projected seedings as published on 24 August 2026; seedings are confirmed at the draw on 27 August and first-round matches are not known before then.