The 2026 US Open singles championships begin this weekend with a number of high-profile names missing from the draws. Former champions Jannik Sinner and Emma Raducanu are absent from the men's and women's competitions respectively, while reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz makes his Grand Slam return after sitting out Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
Mixed doubles title decided before singles
A number of stars competed in the mixed doubles tournament, which took place in the days before the singles events. Czech duo Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik won the title, beating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli in the final. Other pairs included Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, who fell in the first round, while Serena Williams earned a wildcard after partnering up with Alcaraz.
Sinner and other men's absentees
In the men's draw, Wimbledon winner and 2024 US Open champion Sinner is the highest-profile absentee. “We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realised that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue,” said the Italian, who hasn't played since his victory at SW19. “I'm obviously very sad and disappointed, as New York has a special place in my heart,” he continued. “I was very much looking forward to coming back and playing in the electric atmosphere in front of the great fans there.”
Joao Fonseca and Ugo Humbert are other seeds to miss out. Brazilian star Fonseca saw his Cincinnati Open run cut short by injury and has not recovered in time, while Humbert confirmed his absence on Thursday. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate in the US Open this year," he wrote on Instagram. "My back is bothering me again, and I can't be competitive for the final Grand Slam of the year. Time for treatment, and I'll see you very soon on the courts."
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has also pulled out, with a back injury depriving the Spaniard of an opportunity to improve on his career-best performance of the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. His place in the field has been taken by Alexei Popyrin, while Carlos Taberner gets an opportunity after Sinner's withdrawal. Jack Draper will also miss out as his injury-hit year continues. The British star may well have needed to go through qualifying anyway after dropping out of the world top 100 but will instead focus on his recovery.
Women's absentees and British interest
On the women's side, Victoria Mboko is the only seed to miss out. The Canadian was injured at Queen's Club in June and has yet to recover. Raducanu is one of three other players in the world top 60 who won't be involved at Flushing Meadows. The others are American talent Hailey Baptiste and Romanian No.2 Jaqueline Cristian. Elena Rybakina pulled out of the mixed doubles but, at the time of writing, remains in the main draw. She is joined there by Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Kaitlin Quevedo, who replaced Mboko and Baptiste respectively.
The men's and women's singles competitions start on Sunday. There is British interest on both sides, with Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery beginning against Lorenzo Musetti and Katie Boulter facing American wildcard Carol Suh Young Lee.
Men's singles selected absentees: Jannik Sinner, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Joao Fonseca, Ugo Humbert, Ethan Quinn, Sebastian Korda, Holger Rune, Gabriel Diallo, Emilio Nava, Jack Draper.
Women's singles selected absentees: Victoria Mboko, Hailey Baptiste, Jaqueline Cristian, Emma Raducanu, Irina-Camelia Begu, Jil Teichmann, Ajla Tomljanovic, Laura Siegemund, Varvara Gracheva.
