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 Sunday, August 24, 2025, at 11:00 am ET and ends on Sunday, September 7, 2025, 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 tennis 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.
And if you’re at work and can’t sneak a stream, U.S. Open Radio is the way to go.
Four Big Questions for U.S. Open 2025
1) Who can challenge Iga Swiatek? Among the top players in the world, nobody is going into the U.S. Open with as sharp of form and with as much confidence as Iga Swiatek. Winning in places she never thought she would at this point in her career has a serious multiplier effect heading into New York. And with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff off-kilter recently, it makes Swiatek the heavy favorite this U.S. Open. Assuming current form holds up, she likely won’t be at risk until the semifinals at the earliest.
2) Is Jannik Sinner ready for this? The world number one is the defending champion at this year’s U.S. Open, but after retiring from illness during the Cincinnati final against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this week, it’s not entirely clear he is physically prepared for what’s coming. In his pre-tournament press conference on Friday, Sinner said he has not yet fully recovered from the viral illness that has struck a few players on tour, but he hopes to be before the tournament begins. That might mean that he’s in reasonably good shape for his first match, but could quickly be depleted in a taxing two-week event full of best-of-five matches.
3) What form is Novak Djokovic in? The former world number one hasn’t competed since Wimbledon, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He skipped the grass court warm-up events but still made a run to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. That was the second major semifinal appearance in a row after going through five opponents in Paris before Sinner stopped him. If the draw holds up and Djokovic makes it through to the semifinals in New York, there’s a small consolation: he’ll face Alcaraz, not Sinner again. But first, he’ll have to make it through Learner Tien, who is 6-2 against top 10 opponents this year.
4) Who are the U.S. Open surprise candidates? With either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz winning the last two years’ worth of majors, it's hard to imagine a dark horse among the men. But try this one on for size: Jenson Brooksby. His top performances have come in fits and starts this year. And with a few early-ish exits in the last few tournaments, it means he’s ready to wreak havoc in a draw once again.
Is four-time major titleholder Naomi Osaka (and currently ranked 25), really a dark horse? Hard to know. But her erratic 2025 performances — displaying baffling losses and brilliant wins (including a run to the final of Montreal) — have put her on the list. Speaking of the Montreal final, 18-year-old champion Victoria Mboko is a U.S. Open dark horse nominee, as well, because she’s in the best form for a player who has never gained direct entry to a major before.
The U.S. Open 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 year. And if that happens, here are the projected quarterfinal match-ups based on seedings.
Women’s quarterfinals:
1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 7 Jasmine Paolini
4 Jessica Pegula vs. 8 Mirra Andreeva
6 Madison Keys vs. 3 Coco Gauff
8 Amanda Anisimova vs. 2 Iga Swiatek
Men’s quarterfinals:
1 Jannik Sinner vs. 5 Jack Draper
3 Alexander Zverev vs. 8 Alex de Minaur
7 Novak Djokovic vs. 4 Taylor Fritz
6 Ben Shelton vs. 2 Carlos Alcaraz
You can get the full women’s draw here and the men’s draw here.
Unfortunate First Round U.S. Open 2025 Matches
Whether it’s a rough draw for the home crowd, fellow countrypeople battling, or fan favorites facing off, here are some first-round U.S. Open matches that we simply wish weren’t happening.
In the women’s draw:
- Rebecca Marino vs. Leylah Fernandez
- Alex Eala vs. Clara Tauson
- Destanee Aiava vs. Jasmine Paolini
- Victoria Mboko vs. Barbora Krejcikova
- Alycia Parks vs. Mirra Andreeva
- Venus Williams vs. Karolina Muchova
- Ashlyn Krueger vs. Sofia Kenin
- Anna Kalinskaya vs. Clervie Ngounoue
In the men’s draw:
- Lorenzo Musetti vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
- Francesco Passero vs. Flavio Cobolli
- Christopher O’Connell vs. Alex de Minaur
- Novak Djokovic vs. Learner Tien
- Martin Damm vs. Darwin Blanch
- Emilio Nava vs. Taylor Fritz
- Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Pedro Llamas Ruiz
- Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs. Tomas Etcheverry
- Stefan Dostanic vs. Eliot Spizzirri
Check out the daily U.S. Open order of play.
Who Got the U.S. Open 2025 Wild Cards?
Women’s singles
Alyssa Ahn (USA), Caroline Garcia (FRA), Talia Gibson (AUS), Valerie Glozman (USA), Caty McNally (USA), Clervie Ngounoue (USA), Julieta Pareja (USA), Venus Williams (USA)
Men’s singles
Nishesh Basavareddy (USA), Darwin Blanch (USA), Tristan Boyer (USA), Stefan Dostanic (USA), Emilio Nava (USA), Valentin Royer (FRA), Tristan Schoolkate (AUS), Eliot Spizziri (USA)
Doubles wild cards to be announced.
Who Are the U.S. Open 2025 Qualifiers?
After four days of grueling qualifying rounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, here are the 16 women and men who qualified for this year’s U.S. Open main draw:
Women’s singles
Destanee Aiava (AUS), Dalma Galfi (HUN), Priscilla Hon (AUS), Hina Inoue (USA), Fran Jones (GBR), Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND), Claire Liu (USA), Rebecca Marino (CAN), Oksana Selekhmeteva (RUS), Darja Semenistaja (LAT), Ena Shibahara (JAP), Janice Tjen (IDN), Tereza Valentova (CZE), Katie Volynets (USA), Xiyu Wang (CHN), Shuai Zhang (CHN)
Men’s singles
Ugo Blanchet (FRA), Ignacio Buse (PER), Martin Damm (USA), Federico Gomez (ARG), Lloyd Harris (ZAF), Jesper de Jong (NED), Jerome Kym (SUI), Shintaro Mochizuki (JAP), Francesco Passaro (ITA), Zsombor Piros (HUN), Dino Prizmic (HRV), Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP), Leandro Riedi (SUI), Jan-Lennard Struff (GER), Zach Svajda (USA), Coleman Wong (HKG)
What Is the U.S. Open 2025 Prize Money?
Nearly $85 million in prize money will be awarded at the U.S. Open in 2025. Here’s a breakdown of the round-by-round prize money.
Winner: $5 million
Finalist: $2.5 million
Semifinalist: $1.26 million
Quarterfinalist: $660,000
Fourth round: $400,000
Third round: $237,000
Second round: $154,000
First round: $110,000
What Is the Tennis Ranking Points Breakdown for the U.S. Open?
Majors are the time for cashing in not just on prize money, but also on ranking points. Here’s how the singles points breakdown:
Winner: 2000 points
Finalist: 1300 points
Semifinalist: 780 points
Quarterfinalist: 430 points
Fourth round: 240 points
Third round: 130 points
Second round: 70 points
First round: 10 points
Who to Follow
Keep up with the U.S. Open conversation on social media:
- The U.S. Open’s official Instagram account is quite fun (don’t miss the stories!).
- Blair Henley will always, always, always give you the behind-the-scenes glimpses nobody else can.
- Start your day with Court Theory’s U.S. Open coverage by reading our morning cheat sheet, The Daily Theory. We can also chat about U.S. Open matches in real-time if you follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
