Zverev Is Number One Seed at the US Open Without Being World Number One as the Draw Is Made on Thursday
Jannik Sinner withdrew on 21 August with a right knee injury, and the seeding shifted beneath him. The singles draw ceremony is at noon New York time, with a record 108 million dollar purse behind it.
Jannik Sinner withdrew from the US Open on 21 August with a right knee injury, and the consequence is a seeding chart that does not match the rankings: Alexander Zverev is the number one seed as world number two, with Carlos Alcaraz seeded second. The singles draw ceremony is at 12:00 New York time on Thursday 27 August - midnight Friday in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
The main draw has not started yet
Fan Week runs to 29 August and qualifying finishes on 28 August. Main draw play begins on Sunday 30 August and runs to 13 September, with the women's final on Saturday 12 September and the men's on Sunday 13 September.
| Round | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | 30 August - 1 September |
| Second round | 2-3 September |
| Third round | 4-5 September |
| Round of 16 | 6-7 September |
| Quarter-finals | 8-9 September |
| Semi-finals | 10 September (women), 11 September (men) |
A record purse
The 2026 tournament carries a total purse of 108 million dollars, the largest in the history of the sport and roughly 20 per cent up on 2025. The singles champions take 5.5 million dollars, the runners-up 2.8 million, and a first-round loser banks 140,000 dollars. A new two million dollar player support programme sits alongside it.
The Southeast Asian angle is the strongest it has ever been
Alexandra Eala of the Philippines is seeded 17th - a first for the region at this level. Indonesia's Janice Tjen is in the main draw by direct entry after coming through qualifying in 2025, and Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee and Mananchaya Sawangkaew came through the qualifying rounds. Tararudee won the Istanbul Open this season and Sawangkaew reached the third round at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash prices US Open outrights on both singles draws from the moment the bracket is published, plus quarter and half winner markets that let you back a section rather than a champion. Every match carries match winner, set betting, total games, handicap and correct-score markets, with in-play pricing point by point. New York's night sessions land in the Malaysian and Singaporean morning, which is the friendliest slam schedule of the year for this region.
Withdrawals, seedings, dates and prize money as published by the USTA and the tournament entry list. The singles draw had not been made at the time of writing on 27 August 2026.