US Open 2026: Dates, Schedule, Players and How to Watch

The singles main draw of the 2026 US Open starts on **Sunday, August 30, 2026** and runs 15 days through the men's final on **Sunday, September 13**. The event actually opens a week earlier: Fan Week begins on Sunday, August 23 with free grounds admission, and the revamped mixed doubles championship is played August 24-26, before the singles begin. In total the USTA is billing 2026 as 22 days of tennis. Source: usopen.org.

The US Open is played at the **USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center** in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York City. The main show court is Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world with roughly 23,700 seats, followed by Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand. All courts use an acrylic hard-court surface, played under floodlights deep into the New York night sessions.

**Carlos Alcaraz** (men) and **Aryna Sabalenka** (women) are the defending champions, both having won the 2025 edition. Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the 2025 final, extending tennis's defining current rivalry, while Sabalenka successfully defended the title she first won in 2024. Both arrive in New York as the players to beat on hard courts.

The entry lists published in early August are topped by **Jannik Sinner** and **Aryna Sabalenka**, with defending men's champion **Carlos Alcaraz** back to defend his 2025 title. On the women's side, four other former US Open champions are entered alongside Sabalenka: **Coco Gauff** (2024), **Iga Swiatek** (2022), **Naomi Osaka** (2018, 2020) and **Emma Raducanu** (2021). The singles main draws have 128 players each, including 8 wild cards and 16 qualifiers. Sources: usopen.org, Yahoo Sports.

The official 2026 prize money had not been announced as of late July 2026. For reference, the 2025 US Open offered a record **$90 million** total, at the time the largest purse in tennis history, with $5 million each for the men's and women's singles champions. The USTA typically confirms the new figures in August, shortly before the tournament, and another increase is widely expected.

Yes. During **Fan Week, Sunday August 23 to Saturday August 29**, grounds admission is free: you can watch qualifying matches, practice sessions with the stars, and Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, which kicks off Fan Week on August 23. Some marquee Fan Week sessions in the big stadiums, like the mixed doubles semifinals and final, are ticketed separately, with tickets starting around $45. Source: usopen.org.

Since 2025 the US Open has staged its mixed doubles as a star-driven event during Fan Week, before the singles start. In 2026 it runs **August 24-26**: an eight-team qualifying competition feeds two spots into a 16-team main draw, with early rounds using short sets to four games and no-ad scoring, and the final played as best of three tiebreak sets on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday evening, August 26. Big singles names enter as teams, headlined in 2026 by Aryna Sabalenka partnering Novak Djokovic. Sources: usopen.org, olympics.com.

Yes, in mixed doubles. Djokovic and Sabalenka are officially entered as a team for the 2026 US Open mixed doubles championship, played August 24-26 during Fan Week. It is one of the most eye-catching pairings of the revamped format, which is designed to get top singles stars on court together before the main draw begins. Sources: olympics.com, usopen.org.

In the United States, **ESPN** platforms carry the US Open. In the UK, coverage sits with **Sky Sports**; in much of Europe, **Eurosport** has traditionally held rights; check your local listings as the tournament approaches. Streaming options mirror the TV rights holders in each market, and highlights are posted on the official US Open channels.

Tickets are sold through the official US Open site and Ticketmaster, with individual session tickets, multi-session plans and grounds passes. Grounds passes are the budget play: they cover all outer courts plus Grandstand and, on many days, unreserved seating in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Arthur Ashe night sessions in the second week are the priciest sessions. Fan Week (August 23-29) offers free grounds admission before the main draw.

Since 2025, the US Open has started its main draw on a Sunday, stretching the singles to 15 days instead of the traditional 14. The change adds a full extra day of sessions (and revenue), mirrors what Roland-Garros did in 2006 with its Sunday start, and gives the first round three days instead of two. The 2026 edition follows the same pattern: main draw from Sunday, August 30 to Sunday, September 13.