The US Open Starts Today and Novak Djokovic Has the Midnight Slot on Arthur Ashe
Day one at Flushing Meadows on Sunday 30 August. Djokovic plays Mariano Navone, Jessica Pegula opens the evening session, and four British players are scattered across the outside courts.
The 2026 US Open main draw opens today, Sunday 30 August, at Flushing Meadows. Novak Djokovic plays Mariano Navone in the late match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Jessica Pegula meets Elena-Gabriela Ruse earlier in the same session.
Arthur Ashe, day one
| Match | Note |
|---|---|
| Jessica Pegula v Elena-Gabriela Ruse | Evening session |
| Novak Djokovic v Mariano Navone | Late match |
The Ashe evening and late sessions begin at 5pm UK time. Louis Armstrong Stadium starts an hour earlier at 4pm UK time, with Jasmine Paolini and Tommy Paul among the seeds in action there.
The British four
| Player | Court |
|---|---|
| Cameron Norrie (29th seed) | Court 5 |
| Katie Boulter | Court 5 |
| Jacob Fearnley | Court 5 |
| Toby Samuel | Court 10 |
Three of the four are on the same court, which is how an outside-court schedule usually treats a national contingent that is not seeded high.
The context for the fortnight
Jannik Sinner withdrew before the draw with a knee injury, so Alexander Zverev is the number one seed and Carlos Alcaraz the number two. Aryna Sabalenka is the top women's seed. The women's final is on 12 September and the men's on 13 September.
Djokovic drawing the late slot on the opening Sunday is a scheduling decision rather than a seeding one. Ashe's night session is the tournament's largest television asset, and the first night of a Grand Slam is where it is spent.
Where it sits on Playdash
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Order of play, session times and court assignments as published in US Open day one schedule coverage for Sunday 30 August 2026. Session times are given in UK time as published and are five hours behind in New York. Schedules change on the day. Correct at the time of writing on 30 August 2026.