The 2026 US Open runs from August 23 to September 13 in New York, with the men’s and women’s singles main draws starting on August 30. This page will track the tournament through live match odds, leading contenders, market movement, key dates, and the betting angles that matter as the draw develops.
2026 US Open Tennis – Quick Facts
The US Open is the final Grand Slam of the season. The draw matters heavily for outright betting, but New York’s hard courts also create plenty of match-by-match opportunities once the tournament starts.
For the rest of the year’s major betting dates, see our 2026 Sports Betting Calendar.
Men’s US Open Contenders
Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal with a right knee injury has opened up the men’s draw, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returns after more than four months out with a wrist problem. That leaves plenty of uncertainty around the two standout names and brings Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton and the rest of the chasing pack firmly into the picture.
Hard Court 98 and Return 90 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
The model records 131 days since the latest completed match, with the inactivity adjustment applied to Form.
Hard Court 92 and Serve 87 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Return 47 is the weakest current BF component.
Hard Court 86 and Pressure 73 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Return 54 is the weakest current BF component.
Form 94 and Serve 82 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Return 16 is the weakest current BF component.
BF Tennis Rating: Serve 25%, Return 25%, Hard Court 20%, Pressure 15% and Form 15%. Component ratings are calculated against the current ATP Top 50 benchmark using cached SportsAPI365 data. Public cards never trigger upstream API calls.
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz returns to New York as the defending champion, but his preparation for the 2026 US Open comes with a major question mark. He confirmed on August 20 that he will compete after a right wrist injury kept him out since his opening match in Barcelona on April 14. Alcaraz was 22-3 for the season before the layoff, with a 17-2 record on outdoor hard courts.
The ability and surface record make Alcaraz an obvious title contender, especially following Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal, but New York will be his first competitive tournament in more than four months. Match sharpness, wrist durability and how his body responds to repeated best-of-five matches are therefore central to assessing his US Open chances rather than simply relying on his excellent pre-injury form.
Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev arrives in New York as the 2026 Roland Garros champion and a former US Open finalist, having come within two sets of the title in 2020.
He has been one of the most consistent players on tour this season, although his North American hard-court preparation has been mixed, with an early Montreal exit followed by a fourth-round defeat to Tommy Paul in Cincinnati after holding match point. With Sinner absent and Alcaraz returning from injury, Zverev has another strong opportunity to add a second Grand Slam title.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic remains impossible to dismiss at a Grand Slam, particularly in New York where he has won four US Open titles. The 39-year-old reached the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semi-finals in 2026 and now has a clearer route to a record 25th major following Sinner’s withdrawal.
The concern is physical rather than technical. Djokovic struggled badly with the heat and humidity during his opening match in Cincinnati, losing in three sets to Thiago Agustin Tirante, so his ability to handle repeated long matches over two weeks is an obvious betting consideration.
Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton brings one of the strongest recent hard-court profiles into his home Grand Slam. The American successfully defended his Canadian Masters title in Montreal in August, giving him a fourth tour-level trophy of 2026 and returning him to world No. 6.
His powerful left-handed serve and previous US Open semi-final run make him particularly dangerous in New York, although a straight-sets defeat to qualifier Jaime Faria immediately afterwards in Cincinnati showed that his level can still fluctuate.
Other Men’s Contenders
Four names cannot cover a 128-player Grand Slam draw. The lighter profiles below show the strongest remaining ATP BF Index scores from our current Top 50 benchmark, excluding Jannik Sinner following his withdrawal. They provide a quick model snapshot of the chasing pack rather than a fixed prediction.
Form 99 is driving the current BF rating; Serve 62 keeps the profile in check.
Serve 94 is the clearest weapon in this BF profile, while Return 36 is the area to watch.
Form 88 is driving the current BF rating; Return 53 keeps the profile in check.
Hard 88 leads the current profile, with Serve 35 the weaker metric.
Form 87 is driving the current BF rating; Return 41 keeps the profile in check.
Return 91 provides the strongest model edge; Serve 41 is the softer number.
Pressure 82 stands out in the current rating, while Serve 49 leaves more to prove.
Form 81 is driving the current BF rating; Return 53 keeps the profile in check.
Other contenders: ordered by the latest cached BF Index after excluding the four featured profiles. Editorial exclusions can remove withdrawals without triggering any upstream API request.
Women’s US Open Contenders
The women’s field looks less concentrated. Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina occupy the top two ranking positions, while Iga Swiatek has climbed back into the top five after winning Toronto in August.
Hard Court 100 and Pressure 89 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Return 61 is the weakest current BF component.
Hard Court 96 and Serve 78 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Return 24 is the weakest current BF component.
Form 99 and Hard Court 92 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Pressure 51 is the weakest current BF component.
Form 96 and Return 95 are the strongest parts of the current BF profile.
Serve 36 is the weakest current BF component.
BF Tennis Rating: Serve 25%, Return 25%, Hard Court 20%, Pressure 15% and Form 15%. Component ratings are calculated against the current WTA Top 50 benchmark using cached SportsAPI365 data. Public cards never trigger upstream API calls.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka remains world No. 1 and owns the highest BF Index in our women’s field, with elite marks for serve and hard-court ability. Her recent form has been less convincing, though, making price important rather than treating her as an automatic bet. At her best she can overpower almost anyone in New York, but the women’s US Open betting odds look more competitive than her ranking alone might suggest.
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek arrives with renewed momentum after winning the Canadian Open, her first title of 2026, before reaching the Cincinnati semi-finals. Her return game gives her one of the strongest all-round BF profiles in the field and makes her particularly dangerous against weaker servers. The main betting question is whether the market has already fully accounted for that return to form after a more difficult first half of the season.
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff combines a strong hard-court profile with the obvious advantage of playing her home Grand Slam. Her serve has previously been the vulnerable part of the package, but Gauff says changes to the motion have improved it, and she has carried good form into the final US Open warm-up in Cincinnati. If that improvement holds under pressure, her already elite return game makes her a serious outright contender.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina’s profile is built around one of the strongest serves in the women’s game, backed by excellent hard-court ratings. That gives her the ability to shorten points and take matches away from opponents quickly. The immediate concern is fitness after she retired from her Cincinnati quarter-final with an ankle problem. Her US Open outright odds therefore need to be judged alongside any injury update before the main draw begins.
Other Women’s Contenders
The women’s field is deep enough that limiting the page to four names misses several plausible contenders. These lighter profiles show the strongest remaining WTA BF Index scores outside our four featured players.
Hard 98 leads the current profile, with Pressure 66 the weaker metric.
Return 86 provides the strongest model edge; Form 59 is the softer number.
Pressure 92 stands out in the current rating, while Serve 31 leaves more to prove.
Pressure 86 stands out in the current rating, while Hard 59 leaves more to prove.
43 days inactive. Inactivity is already reflected in the Form component.
Return 86 provides the strongest model edge; Pressure 51 is the softer number.
Hard 84 leads the current profile, with Return 58 the weaker metric.
Serve 96 is the clearest weapon in this BF profile, while Return 36 is the area to watch.
Other contenders: ordered by the latest cached BF Index after excluding the four featured profiles. Editorial exclusions can remove withdrawals without triggering any upstream API request.
US Open Tennis Betting Strategy
The BF ratings are designed to highlight strengths, weaknesses and matchup profiles. They are not win probabilities, so a BF Index of 80 does not mean an 80% chance of winning the US Open.
Look Beyond the Overall BF Index
The component scores can be more useful than the headline number. Carlos Alcaraz combines Return 90 and Hard Court 98, but his Form score is reduced by the long injury layoff. Ben Shelton is almost the opposite, with Form 94 and Serve 82 but Return 16.
That difference matters once the draw is known. A serve-led player can look much more attractive against weak returners than against somebody who consistently neutralises first serves.
The Draw Can Change the Outright Market
A good pre-draw price can become much less appealing if a contender lands in a difficult quarter. Once the 2026 draw is confirmed, Betfinder will reassess the leading players against their route through the tournament rather than treating ranking and BF Index in isolation.
Injuries matter too. Alcaraz is returning from a long wrist layoff, while late withdrawals can reshape entire sections of the draw.
Compare Ratings With the Price
The highest BF Index isn’t automatically the best bet. The useful question is whether the available odds properly reflect the player’s profile, fitness, draw and recent form.
Once US Open prices are live, the contender cards will add bookmaker odds alongside the ratings. That should make it much easier to spot cases where the market and the Betfinder data appear to disagree.
Match Markets May Offer Better Opportunities
The five component ratings should become even more useful once individual matches begin. Serve and Return mismatches can help identify matches worth investigating for the moneyline, handicaps and totals, while the Dropping Odds Tracker can show when prices are moving across supported bookmakers.
Previous US Open Tennis Champions
The defending singles champions are Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.
Year Men’s Champion Women’s Champion 2025 Carlos Alcaraz Aryna Sabalenka 2024 Jannik Sinner Aryna Sabalenka 2023 Novak Djokovic Coco Gauff 2022 Carlos Alcaraz Iga Swiatek 2021 Daniil Medvedev Emma Raducanu 2020 Dominic Thiem Naomi Osaka 2019 Rafael Nadal Bianca Andreescu 2018 Novak Djokovic Naomi Osaka 2017 Rafael Nadal Sloane Stephens 2016 Stan Wawrinka Angelique Kerber
FAQs
First-round match odds should appear once bookmakers begin pricing the confirmed draw. The 2026 singles draw is released on August 27, with main-draw play starting August 30. Betfinder will display cached bookmaker prices when the ATP and WTA US Open feeds become active.
The BF Tennis Rating compares players against the current ATP or WTA Top 50 across five areas: Serve, Return, Hard Court, Pressure, and Form. Those scores combine into a BF Index. They are comparative ratings, not a prediction that a player has the same percentage chance of winning.
Yes. An outright price can look attractive before the draw but become much less appealing if a player lands in a difficult quarter. Betfinder therefore treats the BF Index as one part of the picture alongside opponent strength, route through the draw, injuries, and current bookmaker odds.
The US Open is played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Betfinder’s US Open Surface rating therefore uses outdoor hard-court results rather than combining them with indoor hard-court records, which can produce different playing conditions and performance profiles.
Our featured men are Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, and Ben Shelton, while Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina headline the women’s section. The lighter Spotlight profiles cover further contenders based on the current BF Index.
Where can I compare US Open tennis betting odds?
Betfinder will compare US Open tennis odds from supported bookmakers once the markets are available. Prices will sit alongside the BF ratings, recent form, and hard-court data, making it easier to compare both the player profile and the available betting price in one place.
Last editorial update: August 23, 2026.