U.S. Open 2026 live updates: Day 1 latest with Jessica Pegula, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams in action today

The 2026 U.S. Open singles competitions begin today from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Jessica Pegula, U.S. Open finalist in 2024, kicks off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium at 12 p.m. ET against Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, is hoping that he can improve on his first round exit from last year when he faces Hugo Gaston.

Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams headline the night session tonight at Flushing Meadows. Follow our writers for news, updates and analysis on all the action from the final Grand Slam of 2026.

Watch: ABC (12-3 p.m. ET), ESPN2 (3-4:30 p.m. ET), ESPN (4 p.m. ET-end of play)

Streaming (U.S.): Fubo (Stream Free Now)

Get involved in the discuss tab or email us your thoughts at live@theathletic.com

The tennis world missed out on watching Venus and Serena Williams play doubles together at Wimbledon after Serena withdrew from the event with a knee injury she sustained in her first-round singles loss to Australian Maya Joint.

That makes their reunion in New York just a little more special. The sisters last played together at a Grand Slam here at the U.S. Open in 2022, the year Serena “evolved” away from tennis. They lost their first-round match that year to a Czech team featuring a 17-year-old Linda Nosková, and doubles felt a bit like an addendum, an added perk onto what was full-blown Serena-mania in the singles draw.

It’s fun that doubles feels like a more central event this time, despite Venus’ anticipated first-round singles matchup against fellow American and former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin. Serena isn’t playing singles, meaning she can put all of her focus into the doubles, where she’s been looking solid lately (one popular theory earlier this summer as to why she was returning to tennis was so she could play doubles with Venus in New York near what could be the end of her sister’s career).

Serena’s pairing with Carlos Alcaraz for the mixed doubles event was a great combination of loose, lighthearted atmosphere and seriously impressive tennis. In her most recent outing with Venus, at the Cincinnati Open, they took singles players Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns to a third-set tiebreak and came a few points from a comeback win.

However they perform, it’s always a good idea to soak up the Williams sisters in New York — and whatever happens if a match point does not go their way.

At this year’s U.S. Open, two of the longest waits in men’s tennis will collide more meaningfully than they have at any time in the past few years.

It’s been 23 years since an American won a Grand Slam title. That was Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003. On paper, this tournament looks like as ripe an opportunity as there has been in a while to snap that streak.

Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, is out with a knee injury. Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, hasn’t played in four months. He’s coming back from a wrist injury, a terrifying plight for any player.

Novak Djokovic is 39 and has played one match since Wimbledon. Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 seed, was suboptimal in the tuneups for the event.

Now consider the top Americans.

Taylor Fritz won the D.C. Open. Ben Shelton won the Canadian Open. Frances Tiafoe was a set away from winning the Cincinnati Open. Granted, Sinner and Alcaraz didn’t play any of those tournaments, and Djokovic lost his first match in Cincinnati, but these guys are in form.

Tiafoe has been hearing about that streak his entire career. He said the state of the opposition hasn’t changed the math.

“It’s the same conversation,” he said in a news conference Friday. “Still gotta beat seven guys, however way you slice it.”

There’s another wrinkle. The U.S. Open men’s singles has been undefendable since Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive title in New York in 2008. A healthy and prepared Alcaraz would be a runaway favorite for the title. And while not even he knows how he will hold up in the face of competition after missing a third of a year, so much of the 23-year-old’s remarkable career to date has involved doing the near-impossible.

The Cincinnati Open is usually seen as somewhat of a preview into what we might expect in New York, given its place on the tennis calendar. That’s good news for Coco Gauff, who won in dominant fashion in Cincinnati and seems poised to not only vault back up into the top three of the WTA rankings (Gauff is currently No. 4) but add a second U.S. Open trophy to her collection.

But this is still, obviously, Aryna Sabalenka’s tournament to lose. Plus, fellow American Jessica Pegula will look to avenge a loss to Gauff in Cincinnati, and Mirra Andreeva will look to cap off her breakthrough year with a second Grand Slam title after winning at Roland Garros. Iga Świątek will also be keen to win what would be her seventh Grand Slam tournament — but only her second on a hard court, joining her 2022 U.S. Open title.

At the end of last season, it appeared we were embarking on an era where Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz would hold a duopoly over men’s tennis, battling each other in Grand Slam finals more often than not after duking it out in the finals of Roland Garros (won by Alcaraz in an instant classic), Wimbledon (won by Sinner) and the U.S. Open (won by Alcaraz).

But then, after Alcaraz completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, everything went sideways. Alcaraz hurt his wrist in April and underwent surgery, missing Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Sinner was upset in the second round of the former tournament, opening the door for Alexander Zverev’s long-awaited first Grand Slam title, before bouncing back to win the latter. But now Sinner, nursing a knee injury, is on the sidelines for the U.S. Open while nobody is quite sure what sort of form Alcaraz will be in as he returns.

So could someone break through on the men’s side to win their first U.S. Open? Zverev is now the world No. 2 thanks to Alcaraz’s absence. World No. 6 Flavio Cobolli seems up for the challenge after a fun-filled run to the final of the new-look mixed doubles tournament alongside Belinda Bencic. World No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime is the current highest-ranked North American player on the ATP Tour — could proximity help the Canadian in New York? Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz loom in the back of the top 10 — more on them shortly.

And there are still some past champions who could get back atop the mountain as well, most notably 39-year-old Novak Djokovic, still chasing that elusive 25th Grand Slam title.

There's a sense of calm whenever you arrive at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center around 9 a.m. ET. The gates haven't opened for fans yet, not until 9:30 a.m.

Vendors and event workers are getting ready to welcome thousands of spectators for the start of the U.S. Open.

You may see players practicing to get some respite from the hustle and bustle of the New York crowds. I just saw Paula Badosa and her coaches walk to practice.

The Sun is shining, with perfect blue skies and the temperature is 71.6 F (22 C) with the highs getting to 82 F (28 C). Less than 90 minutes until first ball at the U.S. Open.

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