US Open Tennis 2026: Dates, Schedule, TV Coverage and Tickets
US Open Tennis 2026 is under way at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Rain stretched the first round across four days, and the second round begins Wednesday, September 2. The women’s final is Saturday, September 12 and the men’s final Sunday, September 13. ESPN and ABC carry every match in the United States.
This is the 146th US Open, the longest ever staged at 22 days, and the richest tournament in tennis history at $108 million.
Quick Facts
| Edition | 146th |
| Full event | Aug 23 to Sep 13, 2026 (22 days) |
| Main draw singles | Aug 30 to Sep 13 |
| Women’s final | Saturday, September 12 |
| Men’s final | Sunday, September 13 |
| Venue | USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York |
| Surface | Outdoor hard court, Laykold |
| Singles draw | 128 players, 32 seeds |
| Top seeds | Alexander Zverev, Aryna Sabalenka |
| Defending champions | Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka |
| US TV | ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPN Deportes |
| Prize money | $108 million, a tennis record |
Match of the Day
Diane Parry
Sorana CirsteaFirst Round Headlines
Djokovic is out. Mariano Navone beat the fourth seed 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in four hours 36 minutes on opening night. Djokovic was visibly ill and made 70 unforced errors. The loss ended his Open Era record of 78 straight Grand Slam first round wins and was his first ever opening round exit in New York.
Alcaraz looks fine. The defending champion beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in his first singles match since April, and reported no wrist pain.
Rain has run the tournament. All three opening days lost outdoor play. Ashe and Louis Armstrong kept going under their roofs while the outer courts sat idle, leaving a backlog that pushes leftover first round matches into Wednesday, September 2.
Zverev has not started yet. The top seed’s match with Lorenzo Sonego was washed out and moved to Arthur Ashe on Wednesday night.
Rybakina answered the fitness questions. Days after saying she could barely walk, the second seed beat wild card Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2 with no visible trouble. A semifinal run would take her to world No. 1.
Wawrinka said goodbye. Matteo Berrettini beat him 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-0 in the last Grand Slam match of his career. Gaël Monfils is also playing his final major.
Venus lost the latest match in tournament history. Sofia Kenin beat her 6-2, 7-6(6) in a contest that started at 12:13 a.m. Venus, 46, was the oldest woman in the singles draw since Renée Richards in 1981. She and Serena open the women’s doubles on Thursday, September 3 against Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint, their first US Open together since 2022.
Seeds already gone: Novak Djokovic (4), Arthur Fils (10) to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie (29), Matteo Arnaldi (30), Belinda Bencic (12), Maja Chwalińska (20), Barbora Krejčíková (27) and Sára Bejlek (28). Fils had won the Cincinnati title eight days earlier.
Through without trouble: Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula, Gauff, Andreeva, Nosková, Muchová, Świątek, Shelton, Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev, Cobolli, Fritz and Osaka.
Every score, round by round: US Open 2026 results.
US Open Tennis 2026 Schedule and Key Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Aug 23 to 29 | Fan Week, qualifying and the Mixed Doubles Championship (completed) |
| Aug 30 to Sep 2 | First round, extended by rain |
| Sep 2 to 3 | Second round. Women’s doubles begins Sep 3 |
| Sep 4 to 5 | Third round |
| Sep 6 to 7 | Round of 16, Labor Day weekend |
| Sep 8 to 9 | Quarterfinals |
| Thu, Sep 10 | Women’s semifinals. Open for All Day, free grounds entry |
| Fri, Sep 11 | Men’s semifinals |
| Sat, Sep 12 | Women’s final |
| Sun, Sep 13 | Men’s final |
Outer courts and the Grandstand start at 11 a.m. ET. Arthur Ashe Stadium starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on most days. Night sessions in Ashe and Louis Armstrong begin at 7 p.m. ET. The USTA posts the next day’s order of play each evening, and rain can move matches at short notice.
Day by day detail, TV windows and local start times: US Open 2026 schedule.
Seeds and Players to Watch
| Seed | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | Aryna Sabalenka |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | Elena Rybakina |
| 3 | Félix Auger-Aliassime | Jessica Pegula |
| 4 | Novak Djokovic (out) | Coco Gauff |
| 5 | Flavio Cobolli | Mirra Andreeva |
| 6 | Alex de Minaur | Linda Nosková |
| 7 | Daniil Medvedev | Karolína Muchová |
| 8 | Ben Shelton | Iga Świątek |
Jannik Sinner is not here. The world No. 1 beat Zverev to win Wimbledon in July for his fifth major, then withdrew on August 21 with a right knee injury. It is the first Grand Slam he has missed since Wimbledon 2019, and the reason Zverev is top seed and Alcaraz second.
Carlos Alcaraz is the favourite now. He won the Australian Open in January to complete the career Grand Slam at 22, the youngest man ever to do it, then a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open cost him Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Montreal and Cincinnati. Four months later he is moving well.
Alexander Zverev is top seed at a major for the first time. He won his maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros and reached the Wimbledon final. He is also the first man to be a major’s No. 1 seed without ever having been world No. 1.
Aryna Sabalenka chases a three peat. She won in 2024 and 2025. No woman has taken three straight US Opens since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014.
The world No. 1 ranking is live. Sabalenka, Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff can all finish the fortnight on top. Rybakina takes it outright by reaching the semifinals.
Coco Gauff arrived in form. She beat Pegula 6-2, 6-4 in the Cincinnati final for her second title there.
Three different women hold the 2026 majors. Rybakina took Melbourne, Mirra Andreeva won Roland Garros at 19, and Linda Nosková won Wimbledon at 21.
Also worth tracking: Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz leading the home charge, Naomi Osaka, and Alexandra Eala, whose 17th seeding is the highest ever for a Filipino player at a major.
Missing alongside Sinner: João Fonseca, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Casper Ruud, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Emma Raducanu and Victoria Mboko.
Full field and section by section analysis: players guide and draw breakdown.
What Is New in 2026
Record $108 million purse. Prize money jumped 20 percent on 2025. This is the first Grand Slam to pass $100 million in player compensation.
Longest edition ever. Fan Week opened August 23 with Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day leading off for the first time, giving 22 competition days.
New host broadcasters. The USTA produces the world feed from 2026, a job ESPN held from 2015 to 2025, with Warner Bros. Discovery taking on host broadcast duties for the first time. Your local channel is unchanged.
RedZone came to tennis. ESPN streamed point to point coverage across all 16 courts from August 30 through September 4, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, a first for ESPN tennis coverage.
Arthur Ashe rebuilt. Phase two of the $800 million project reworked the lower bowl and suite levels. Courtside seating grew from 3,000 to 5,000 and the concourses are 40 percent wider. The USTA puts capacity at 23,933. The full redesign lands before the 2027 US Open.
How to Watch US Open Tennis 2026 Live
ESPN holds exclusive US rights through 2037. Coverage runs across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App. ABC carries all three Sundays, including the men’s final at 2 p.m. ET on September 13. The women’s final is Saturday, September 12 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
The streaming plans confuse a lot of people. ESPN+ still exists, but only as the content library inside the ESPN Select plan, and Select does not carry the ESPN linear channels. To stream all 16 courts and Multiview you need ESPN Unlimited.
| Plan | Price for new sign-ups | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN Select | $13.99 a month | ESPN+ library only, no linear channels |
| ESPN Unlimited | $31.99 a month | Every match, all 16 courts, Multiview |
| Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited | $35.99 a month | Same tennis access, bundled |
Prices rose from $12.99 and $29.99. Anyone who subscribed before August 20 keeps the old rate until their first billing date after September 17.
| Country | Where to watch |
|---|---|
| United States | ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Unlimited |
| UK and Ireland | Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Go, NOW |
| Canada | TSN, RDS, TSN Direct, TSN+ |
| Australia | Nine and 9Now free, Stan Sport for every court |
| Europe (45 markets) | Eurosport, plus every court on HBO Max. Excludes Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Ireland |
| India and South Asia | JioStar, on Star Sports and JioHotstar |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
| New Zealand | ESPN via Disney+ or Sky Sport |
| MENA | beIN Sports |
| Japan | WOWOW |
Australia has the best free option anywhere. Nine airs selected matches free to air and 9Now streams them at no cost. Travelling? Your home service checks your location and will block you.
Prices, apps and local detail for every market: live stream guide.
Tickets and the Last Free Day
Face value sold out within hours of going on sale in late May. Grounds passes were $65 and Arthur Ashe seats started at $43, so resale is what most fans now pay. The average get in price across all sessions sat at $284 on August 31, up about 15 percent on 2025 and barely moved since the main draw began. Finals tickets start near $510.
Buy through usopen.org or Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner. Official resale runs through the Official Ticket Marketplace, powered by Ticketmaster, the only secondary site where purchases are verified. Use those sources only.
Fan Week gave seven free days from August 23 to 29, and those needed a free Fan Access Pass for anyone 18 and over. One free day is left: Open for All Day on Thursday, September 10. Grounds admission is free and the outer courts stage the men’s doubles semifinals plus junior and wheelchair matches. The women’s semifinals in Arthur Ashe that evening are a separate ticketed session.
Sessions, prices and seating advice: tickets guide.
Prize Money
The 2026 US Open pays out $108 million, up 20 percent on the $90 million record set in 2025. Men and women earn identical amounts at every round.
| Result | Singles payout |
|---|---|
| Champion | $5,500,000 |
| Runner up | $2,800,000 |
| Semifinalist | $1,450,000 |
| Quarterfinalist | $780,000 |
| Round of 16 | $480,000 |
| Third round | $290,000 |
| Second round | $190,000 |
| First round | $140,000 |
Doubles and mixed doubles champions each take $1 million per team. The first round cheque rose 27 percent, the biggest jump of any round and a direct answer to player pressure over pay at the base of the draw.
Qualifying and doubles detail: prize money guide.
Mixed Doubles Result
Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík won the Mixed Doubles Championship on August 26, beating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6, 10-6. The all Czech pair split $1 million, the largest mixed doubles prize in tennis.
Sixteen teams played the main draw on August 25 and 26, after a new qualifying day on August 24. Matches used short sets to four games with no-ad scoring and a 10-point tiebreak instead of a third set, with the final played to six. Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka lost their opener, as did two time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals on a wild card.
Full results and format: mixed doubles guide.
Inside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Arthur Ashe Stadium holds 23,933 after the 2026 rebuild, still the largest tennis stadium in the world. Louis Armstrong seats about 14,000. Those two courts have retractable roofs, which is why they kept playing through three days of rain. The Grandstand seats 8,125, has no roof, and gives the closest view on the grounds.
The tournament drew a record 1,144,562 fans in 2025, up 9 percent year on year and the second straight year above one million. Fan Week alone accounted for 239,307 of them.
Getting there is simple. Take the 7 subway train or the Long Island Rail Road Port Washington Branch to Mets Willets Point, a short walk from the gates. The LIRR runs direct from Grand Central Madison and Penn Station in about 19 minutes. Parking near Flushing Meadows is limited, especially on New York Mets home dates.
A Short History
The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, after the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The first US National Championship was played in 1881 at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island. The men’s event moved to Forest Hills in 1915 and the tournament settled at Flushing Meadows in 1978, where it has been played on hard courts ever since.
Explore the Tournament
- Results: every score, updated daily
- Schedule and TV times: round dates, ESPN windows, order of play
- Live stream: every country, service and price
- Tickets: sessions, prices, safe buying
- Draw and matchups: seeds, quarters, projected meetings
- Printable bracket: free sheets to fill in
- Prize money: round by round breakdown
- Players and seeds: the full field
FAQ about US Open Tennis 2026
When does the US Open 2026 start and end?
The 2026 US Open runs Sunday, August 23 to Sunday, September 13 in New York. Fan Week and qualifying filled the first week. Main draw singles began Sunday, August 30. The women’s final is Saturday, September 12 and the men’s final Sunday, September 13.
Did Novak Djokovic lose in the first round?
Yes. Mariano Navone beat the fourth seed 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 on opening night, August 30. Djokovic was unwell on court and made 70 unforced errors. The result ended his Open Era record of 78 consecutive Grand Slam first round wins and was his first opening round exit at the US Open.
Is Jannik Sinner playing the 2026 US Open?
No. The world No. 1 withdrew on August 21 with a right knee injury, his first missed Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2019. Alexander Zverev is top seed in his place, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz seeded second. Joao Fonseca, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Casper Ruud, Emma Raducanu and Victoria Mboko are also out.
How can I watch US Open Tennis 2026?
In the United States, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes carry daily coverage and ABC has all three Sundays including the men’s final. ESPN Unlimited streams all 16 courts at $31.99 a month for new subscribers. Sky Sports covers the UK, TSN Canada, Eurosport and HBO Max most of Europe, and Nine plus 9Now show free matches in Australia.
How much prize money is at the 2026 US Open?
A record $108 million, up 20 percent on 2025 and the first Grand Slam to pass $100 million. Each singles champion earns $5.5 million, the runner up $2.8 million, a semifinalist $1.45 million. Losing in the first round pays $140,000, a 27 percent rise. Doubles and mixed doubles champions take $1 million per team.
Are there any free days left at the 2026 US Open?
One. Open for All Day falls on Thursday, September 10, when grounds admission is free and the outer courts stage the men’s doubles semifinals plus junior and wheelchair matches. The women’s semifinals in Arthur Ashe that evening are a separate ticketed session.
What is the US Open bag policy?
One bag per guest, no larger than 12 inches wide by 12 inches high by 16 inches long. Backpacks are banned except single compartment drawstring bags. Reusable metal or plastic water bottles up to 24 ounces are allowed, glass is not. There is no bag storage inside the grounds, though paid storage sits just outside the Main Entry and Champions’ Gate.
What happens if it rains at the US Open?
Play continues in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium, the only two courts with retractable roofs. Everything else stops until the courts dry. Rain hit all three opening days in 2026 and pushed part of the first round into September 2.
We update this US Open Tennis 2026 guide every morning with results, start times, TV listings, seed movements and printable brackets, right through to the men’s final on September 13.