Summer is winding down, and with it goes the North American hardcourt swing.
Canadian fans got their annual dose of tennis at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers earlier this month, as players tuned up for the 146th edition of the US Open in New York City.
Home to Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis venue in the world, the US Open stage is one of the biggest and brightest in sports.
This year, former superstars Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka will make their final appearances at the tournament, and the legendary Williams sisters will return to doubles after four years away.
Meanwhile, one of the best players in the history of the sport is returning from injury to defend his title.
Let’s take a look at that and other storylines ahead of the “Big Apple Slam.”
Alcaraz returns for title defence
Carlos Alcaraz has not played singles tennis since April, and yet the Spaniard comes to New York as a No. 2 seed.
The most dominant player of the 2020s, Alcaraz won his first major at the 2022 US Open and has since collected seven Grand Slam trophies, including last year in New York.
Alcaraz became the youngest career Grand Slam champion when he won the Australian Open in January. Before his wrist injury at the Barcelona Open, the 23-year-old seemed poised to defend his title at Roland Garros and give rival Jannik Sinner a run for his money at Wimbledon. Instead, Alexander Zverev claimed his first Grand Slam title in Paris, and Sinner coasted to his second straight Wimbledon title.
Now Alcaraz is back, and Sinner is the one on the mend.
The only competitive tennis Alcaraz has played since returning was earlier this week, when he teamed up with Serena Williams for the US Open’s short mixed doubles tournament. Alcaraz was his normal, energetic self on court, hitting heavy forehands while not displaying any discomfort with his wrist. Williams and Alcaraz lost in the second round.
Wrist injuries are precarious for tennis players, and at Grand Slams, where the men play best-of-five set matches, durability is paramount to winning a title. If the wrist is close to 100 per cent, Alcaraz has a great chance to defend his title, especially in a Sinner-less field.
For the top four women in the WTA rankings, a US Open trophy isn’t the only coveted result on the line.
Current No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has been at the top for 96 consecutive weeks, but is likely to lose that station by tournament’s end. The 2,000 ranking points she earned by winning last year’s US Open title will come off the board following this year’s final, and the Belarusian star has had a rough season for her standards.
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina is the key player in the race for WTA No. 1. The No. 2 seed can take over the WTA’s top spot for the first time by making the semifinals, regardless of other players’ results.
Two American stars are also contending for their first No. 1 ranking: No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 4 Coco Gauff. Either of them can take the top spot by winning the tournament or if Rybakina loses before the semifinals. Gauff won the 2023 US Open, while Pegula has never won a Grand Slam. The two recently met at the Cincinnati Open final, where Gauff won handily.
As for Gauff, coming off of Cincinnati, she is in the best form of the four contenders. Rybakina retired with a leg injury in her quarterfinal match vs. Iga Swiatek, and her health remains a question.
But if none of Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff win the title, Rybakina will become world No. 1, even if she doesn’t win a match.
It’s a small but mighty group of players representing Canada at this year’s tournament. Down from six last year, just three Canadians will compete in the singles main draw between the men and women.
The group is led by three-seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was a semifinalist in 2025. Denis Shapovalov and Leylah Fernandez round out the Canadian contingent.
Regular fixtures Victoria Mboko and Gabriel Diallo are out with injuries.
Auger-Aliassime could square off with former top-10 player Karen Khachanov in the second round, a player who can give fits to the game’s best and make surprising runs at big tournaments.
Auger-Aliassime is Canada’s best hope, but Fernandez was a finalist at the tournament in 2021, and has played well in recent weeks.
Djokovic running out of time
Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title in New York in 2023, tying Margaret Court for most Grand Slam singles trophies in tennis history. Three years later, a record-breaking 25th slam has been all too elusive for the Djoker.
A 25th Slam would be icing on the cake of Djokovic’s illustrious career. But the Serb has been laser-focused on the milestone in recent years. So much so, he has played only three non-Grand Slam tournaments this season, skipping out on several others.
Djokovic is racing against the clock, and with each passing year, he is nearing the finish line.
At 39 years old, he would be the oldest man to ever win a Grand Slam by two years. After the US Open, his next chance would be in January in Australia, then at Roland Garros, by which point he will have turned 40.
Djokovic was drawn in the toughest quarter among top-four seeds at this US Open. He will play the winner of Wawrinka and Matteo Berrettini — two former top-10 players — in the second round should he advance.
One of the feel-good stories of the 2026 season has been Alex Eala, the Filipina star who has climbed the rankings and drawn heaps of fans to her matches.
Her recent DC Open title was a coming-out party, and the support she received at the National Bank Open in Toronto was staggering. Sold-out crowds came to watch and cheer her on as she made a run to the Round of 16.
After a tough third-round exit in Cincinnati, Eala’s sights are set on a deep run in New York, where she fell in the second round last year.
Eala’s path is not easy, as she could match up with teenage sensation Iva Jovic in the third round, then Gauff in the Round of 16.
Eala will be one of the fan favourites, perhaps even against American players. The United States is home to the largest Filipino diaspora in the world, with over 250,000 residents in the New York metropolitan area alone.
Can American men finally contend?
When Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, it was the 19th title by an American in the 36 years since the Open Era began.
No American man has lifted the trophy since.
This storyline looms larger with every passing tournament. This year, there are several Americans in good form and ready to make a run.
During the hardcourt swing — from Washington to Canada to Cincinnati — four American men have played in three finals, with Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz winning titles. Brandon Nakashima lost to Fritz in Washington and Shelton in Montreal, while Francis Tiafoe lost to Frenchman Arthur Fils in Cincinnati.
Learner Tien and Tommy Paul round out the six Americans seeded in the top 20, the most since seeding expanded in 2001.
There’s a feeling that American men are on the cusp of another golden age. There might not be another Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras in the pipeline, but Tien and Shelton are only 20- and 23-years old respectively, and have the tools to start contending for majors.