It’s time for the final major of the year, when hundreds of the world’s top tennis professionals will gather in New York City for their chance on the hard courts of the U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. The main draw kicks off on Monday, August 28, 2023 at 11:00 am ET, and ends on Sunday, September 10, 2023, with the men’s singles final headlining that day.

Here’s a preview of this year’s U.S. Open with a look at some of the big questions and fine details so you can get the most out of the next two weeks of action from New York.

How to Watch the U.S. Open

In the U.S., ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ are the main avenues for catching matches throughout the next two weeks of the U.S. Open. ABC will pick up a pocket or two of coverage, and Tennis Channel will host a morning program before coverage begins each day.

The U.S. Open has the full rundown of its broadcast partners around the world.

Three Big Questions

1) Can Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic do it again? This is turning out to be a rivalry across generations and surfaces that truly delivers. With a 2-2 head-to-head record, Alcaraz and Djokovic are delivering stunning battles that keep fans engaged even when they aren’t playing at their highest levels. The only things separating us from another thriller are six rounds and physical conditioning, which tested them both during the Cincinnati final.

2) Is it Coco’s turn? Coco Gauff was having a perfectly fine year before going out first round at Wimbledon. Since then, she’s rebuilt her team by adding Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert in coaching and consulting capacities. Now we’re seeing incredible play reminiscent of how she first burst onto the tour, pulling in her first WTA 500 title in Washington and first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, which included a win over world number one Iga Swiatek. Is she ready to do it on an even bigger stage at the U.S. Open?

3) How will Iga Swiatek respond? It feels a little bit unfair of a question. Swiatek is still the number one player in the world and by a fair amount (Aryna Sabalenka is behind her by more than 1200 points). But she’s not quite as dominant this year as she was the last two. The last big tournament she won was Roland-Garros, but has underperformed a bit since then. On her last outing, Cincinnati, she lost in the semifinals to Gauff. The two are on a course to meet in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, and the two have something to prove.

The Draws

It’s rare that all the top 8 seeds make it to the quarterfinals of a major, but — who knows? — maybe we can make U.S. Open history this years. And if that happens, here are the projected quarterfinal match-ups based on seedings.

Women’s quarterfinals:
1 Iga Swiatek vs. 6 Coco Gauff
4 Elena Rybakina vs. 8 Maria Sakkari
7 Caroline Garcia vs. 3 Jessica Pegula
5 Ons Jabeur vs. 2 Aryna Sabalenka

Men’s quarterfinals:
1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. 6 Jannik Sinner
3 Daniil Medvedev vs. 8 Andrey Rublev
5 Casper Ruud vs. 4 Holger Rune
7 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. 2 Novak Djokovic

You can get the full women’s draw here and the men’s draw here.

Unfortunate First Rounds

Whether it’s fellow country people or fan favorites facing off, here are some first round matches that we simply wish weren’t happening.

For the second major in a row at the very top of the list is Venus Williams. But instead of Elina Svitolina this time, she’s facing Paula Badosa. Both Williams and Badosa have been battling injury, so it’s not at all clear where things stand. But, at their best, these are two amazing ball strikers who would put on an amazing show.

Here are some other devastating first rounders sure to upset a tennis fan or two:

  • Barbora Strycova vs. Kaia Kanepi: These two are aged 37 and 38, respectively. Did the U.S. Open devise a plot against veterans on the comeback trail?
  • Camila Giorgi vs. Jessica Pegula: It all depends on which Camila Giorgi shows up. If it’s the ball-bashing, winner-hitter who can go games without losing a point, we definitely don’t want this first round match.
  • Sloane Stephens vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia: This battle would make for an excellent quarterfinal match, not an opening round.
  • Andy Murray vs. Corentin Moutet: The Frenchman’s game shouldn’t give Murray a tough time, but his antics might.
  • Sebastian Baez vs. Borna Coric: The two will have just a couple of days to get over their match up in Winston-Salem (outcome TBD).
  • Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. Alex Michelsen: The Spanish veteran loves grinding for long five-setters, which could be rough go for the American teen in his major main draw debut.
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Milos Raonic: This match-up should be highly exciting, but couldn’t it wait for a couple of rounds?!?
  • Steve Johnson vs. Taylor Fritz: Everybody loves an all-American head-to-head, but first round is a lot to take.

Who Got the U.S. Open Wild Cards?

Eight men and eight women received wild cards into the U.S. Open. A mix of big names, scrappy upstarts, and college and juniors stars have made their ways onto the list.

Men’s Singles Wild Cards
Americans John Isner, Alex Michelsen, Michael Mmoh, Steve Johnson, Ethan Quinn, and Learner Tien received wild cards from the U.S. Open. Benjamin Bonzi (France) and Rinky Hijikata (Australia) were also named as part of reciprocal agreements.

Women’s Singles Wild Cards
Americans Venus Williams, Ashlyn Krueger, Robin Montgomery, Kayla Day, and Clervie Ngounoue, plus Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) received wild cards from the U.S. Open. Fiona Ferro (France) and Storm Hunter (Australia) were given reciprocal wild cards.

Read, Watch, Listen

A few things to get you in the mood:

  • Billie Jean King reflects on 50 years of equal prize money at the U.S. Open.
  • A fascinating profile of Andy Roddick on winning the U.S. Open, losing to Federer, and being the last American man to win a major.
  • Check out The Tennis Podcast’s U.S. Open Draw episode. And then keep up with their special coverage over the next two weeks.
  • GQ and Scott Lazer have just put out a new mini documentary on what it’s like to climb up the ranks as a “Ball Person” at the U.S. Open.

Who to Follow

  • Be sure to follow Racquet magazine on Twitter, as Andrew Eccles steps in to tweet for the next two weeks.
  • You will definitely, definitely want to keep up with the emcee-est of the emcees Blair Henley for the best behind the scenes looks at the U.S. Open that nobody else is going to give you.
  • And keep up with Court Theory’s U.S. Open updates. We can talk all things U.S. Open if you follow Court Theory on Twitter. Or X. Or whatever we’re calling it these days.