Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz needed only a New York minute to hit his stride after a nearly five-month injury layoff, beating Russian Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4 6-4 on Monday in the first round of the U.S. Open.

It also ended his run of 78 Grand Slam first-round victories, a streak stretching all the way back to Djokovic's 2006 loss to Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open.

The US Open looks more open than ever, and top-seeded Alexander Zverev says the absence of Jannik Sinner and questions surrounding defending champion Carlos Alcaraz as he returns from injury do little to enhance his own status as favorite.

Since Novak Djokovic last lifted the US Open trophy in 2023 to tie Margaret Court with a 24th Grand Slam title, the Serbian superstar has relentlessly pursued record-breaking number 25.

The 2016 champion was left off the initial list of wildcard entries in his farewell season, reigniting fierce debate over which players get the nod -- and which are left out -- in the wildcard process at the majors.

The sisters have been one of the most successful doubles partnerships in tennis, combining power, athleticism and an unmistakable competitive edge.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka were sent tumbling out of the US Open's mixed doubles tournament on Tuesday by Czech Katerina Siniakova and Britain's Henry Patten.

She and Alcaraz received one of the last three wildcard entries into the main draw for mixed doubles

The five-time Grand Slam winner has not played since winning Wimbledon on July 12, pulling out of US Open warm-up hard court tournaments in Cincinnati and Montreal.

The US Open purse will top $100 million for the first time, a 20% increase on last year's $85 million that the US Tennis Association no doubt hopes will quiet the kind of protests over player compensation that erupted at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ongoing wrist injury, organisers said on Tuesday, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard's fitness ahead of his US Open title defence this month.

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic and women's number one Aryna Sabalenka top the list of pairings entered for the US Open mixed doubles.

Novak Djokovic will return to action in Shanghai next month in his first tournament since his US Open semifinal defeat by Carlos Alcaraz, organisers of the Masters tournament said.

Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in four sets on Sunday to win the US Open and reassert his dominance of an era-defining rivalry in a final delayed by the visit of President Donald Trump.

For the second consecutive Grand Slam, Amanda Anisimova found herself tantalisingly close to etching her name into the tennis history books – only to watch it slip away in straight sets.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world's undisputed top two players, will square off in a third straight Grand Slam final on Sunday at the US Open with President Donald Trump in attendance.

Three years after almost walking away from the sport in frustration, Aryna Sabalenka cemented her status as the world's best player with her victory at the US Open.

Felix Auger-Aliassime left the U.S. Open with pride and perspective after a 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 semi-final defeat to defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday, saying only time will tell if he can return to the sport’s summit after an inspired fortnight in New York.

Reigning champion Jannik Sinner expects another "special" occasion when he plays Carlos Alcaraz for the men's US Open title after the Italian reached his fifth successive Grand Slam final on Friday.

Amanda Anisimova will bid to crown her improbable redemption mission at the US Open on Saturday as world number one Aryna Sabalenka seeks to grab her final chance of the year to win a Grand Slam.