Tennis – At the season’s final major, Jannik Sinner will aim to become just the seventh man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slam titles in the same year.
The top seed and defending US Open champion remains unbeaten at the hard-court majors since 2023, but he will face fierce competition from the likes of rival Carlos Alcaraz, four-time winner Novak Djokovic and former finalist Alexander Zverev.
Other contenders for the US Open include last year’s runner-up Taylor Fritz, British No. 1 Jack Draper, in-form American Ben Shelton and plenty more.
ATPTour.com looks at 10 storylines to look out for at Flushing Meadows.
1) Sinner’s pursuit of triple-major season: Despite retiring ill against Alcaraz in their Cincinnati final last week, Sinner will begin his title defence full of confidence, having claimed the past three hard-court major titles. With triumphs this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, the world No. 1 could become the seventh man in the Open Era to win three major crowns in one season.
Sinner owns a 31-4 tour-level record this season. He first plays Vit Kopriva and is seeded to meet Draper in the quarter-finals.
2) Alcaraz eyes World No. 1 takeover: With a Tour-leading 54 wins and six titles in 2025, Alcaraz will aim to continue his impressive season at the US Open, which could have huge implications on the PIF ATP Rankings. Alcaraz was stunned in the second round by Botic van de Zandschulp last year and will start 50 points ahead of defending champion Sinner in the Live Rankings this year.
If the 2022 US Open champion goes further in the tournament than Sinner, he is guaranteed to reclaim the World No. 1 spot for the first time since September 2023.
3) Djokovic’s charge for record 25th major: Djokovic returns to tour-level action for the first time since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals five weeks ago and is chasing a record 25th major title, and first since he won in New York in 2023. The Serbian has reached the last four at all three Grand Slam tournaments this year, retiring against Zverev in Melbourne before losing to Sinner in straight sets at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
At seventh, Djokovic is at his lowest US Open seeding since his second appearance in 2006. The 38-year-old, who leads Alcaraz 5-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, could meet the Spaniard in the semi-finals.
4) Can Zverev go one step further at a Slam? A three-time major finalist, Zverev suffered heartbreaking five-set losses to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and to Alcaraz at Roland Garros last year before falling to Sinner in three in the Australian Open final in January.
Zverev has reached at least the quarter-finals in each of his past four appearances in New York and arrives this year after consecutive semi-final runs in Toronto and Cincinnati.
5) Shelton, Ruud, Medvedev lurking in Alcaraz’s quarter: If Alcaraz is to strengthen his chances of winning a second US Open title, he will first have to navigate a testing quarter, which features 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud and this month’s Toronto titlist Ben Shelton.
Medvedev, who is seeded to face Alcaraz in the fourth round, has proven himself against the Spaniard at Flushing Meadows in the past, notably prevailing in their four-set semi-final in 2023. Ruud is currently 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and will aim to bolster his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a deep run in New York.
A standout performer of the North American hard-court swing so far, Shelton returns to his home major riding a strong run of form. The 22-year-old boasts an 11-3 tour-level record in the past month, highlighted by winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and thus rising to a career-high World No. 6. He is projected to meet Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
6) Top 10 threats: Last year’s runner-up Fritz became the first American to reach the US Open championship match since 2006 and the home favourite will return with expectation. The 27-year-old won two grass-court titles and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year before backing it up with a run to the last four in Toronto.
British No. 1 Draper was a surprise semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2024 but is now an established player at the top of the game. In March, he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, where he stunned Alcaraz in the semi-finals, but he is yet to compete since his shock second-round defeat to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon.
Washington champion Alex de Minaur, Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov and World No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti are all players to look out for in New York.
7) Teen talents: Miami champion Jakub Mensik leads a charge of teenage talents aiming to make their mark at the US Open. The 19-year-old Czech, who reached the third round in his two prior appearances, is joined by 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca and 19-year-old American Learner Tien.
The 2023 US Open boys’ singles champion, Fonseca won his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires in February and will make his main-draw debut in New York this week. Tien, who stunned Medvedev at the Australian Open in January, faces Djokovic in the first round.
8) Year-End No. 1 battle heats up: After winning his eighth ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Cincinnati, Alcaraz has taken a 1,890-point lead over Sinner. The Italian will aim to reduce that deficit in New York as he aims to retain his Year-End ATP No. 1 presented by PIF honours.
9) First-round matches to watch: Alexander Bublik, who has captured three tour-level titles during the European summer swing, faces a stern test against former champion Marin Cilic in his first appearance of the North American hard-court swing. Musetti also faces a challenge against big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his opener, while Wimbledon quarter-finalist Cameron Norrie starts against American Sebastian Korda.
10) Cash/Glasspool eye second major in 2025: Despite seeing their 22-match tour-level winning streak come to an end in the Cincinnati semi-finals, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool arrive at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
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