"Flashing Meadows" begins without clear candidates
The US Open (Flushing Meadows) tennis tournament kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, in New York, without a clear favorite to win the men’s or women’s titles. This uncertainty stems from the withdrawal of Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the lack of competitive rhythm for Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka, and the recent return to play of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner, the Wimbledon champion from July and world number one, suffered a knee injury in his right knee and was forced to withdraw from a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career, despite holding five major titles.
His main rival, Carlos Alcaraz (ranked third), will compete in his first tournament in New York since April. He had been sidelined for more than four months with a right wrist injury, which also prevented him from participating in Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The 23-year-old Spanish player, who has won seven major titles, said that returning to competition through a Grand Slam “poses a real challenge after such a long absence.”
Before facing Russia’s Roman Safiullin (ranked 98th) in the first round of singles, Alcaraz marked his return to competition on Tuesday with a mixed doubles match that ended in a win and a loss alongside the returning American Serena Williams (44 years old). During both matches, the Murcian-born player still wore a compression sleeve on his right arm.
Alexander Zverev (ranked second) warned, “I expect he might need some time in his first or second match, but he will certainly be among the top contenders afterward.” The German player won his first major title in June at Roland Garros. After reaching the Wimbledon final, Zverev exited in the first round of the 1,000-point Montreal tournament and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati.
Djokovic Has a Chance
What about Novak Djokovic? The 39-year-old Serbian, who reached the Australian Open final in January and the Wimbledon semifinals in July, lost his only preparatory match on hard courts in Cincinnati. However, his former rival, Swiss legend Roger Federer, noted that “Novak always has a chance, regardless of the tournament he enters.”
Kei Nishikori, runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2014, said, “I have great respect for Novak,” who has been striving for about three years to win his 25th major title and break the all-time record. The former world number four, whose Grand Slam career ended on Friday with a third-round qualifying loss at the US Open at age 36, added, “He is still among the top five in the world and continues to deliver an excellent level. He may suffer injuries from time to time, but he keeps fighting.”
Several players have shown their capability in recent weeks, most notably American Ben Shelton (ranked ninth), who successfully defended his title in Canada, and Frenchman Arthur Fils (ranked 11th), who won the most significant title of his career so far in Cincinnati. Given their current form, young Spaniard Rafael Junqueira (ranked 13th) and American Brandon Nakashima (ranked 17th) should also be monitored.
Open Competition
Among the women, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion for the past two editions, has not won a title since her remarkable victories at Indian Wells and Miami in March. However, the world No. 1 insisted that her return to top form is “only a matter of time.” Her direct rival, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, who has already missed several opportunities to seize the top spot in the rankings, arrives in New York following a quarterfinal exit at Cincinnati, raising questions about her physical readiness. This development offers hope to currently in-form players such as Americans Jessica Pegula (world No. 3) and Coco Gauff (No. 4), as well as Poland’s Iga Swiatek (No. 8). Pegula, the runner-up in New York in 2024, said: “There is no player so dominant that we feel she must lose for us to have a chance to win the title.”
