The Longest US Open Ever Is Under Way — Without Jannik Sinner
Qualifying begins in New York as the 2026 US Open stretches to a record 22 days, pays out $108 million, and loses the world No. 1 to a knee injury.
The 2026 US Open has begun in Queens, and it is an Open unlike any before it: the longest in the tournament's history, the richest in tennis history, and the first Grand Slam main draw of the season to go ahead without the world No. 1.
Bigger, longer, richer
This year's edition stretches across 22 competition days, from 23 August to 13 September — the most in the event's near-150-year history, according to Tennis Majors. Singles qualifying runs 24-28 August, the revamped mixed doubles championship — with a $1 million prize for the winning pair — takes place 26-27 August, and singles main-draw play begins on 30 August. The women's final is set for 12 September, the men's for 13 September.
The money has grown to match the calendar. Total player compensation reaches a record $108 million, up roughly 20 percent on 2025, with the men's and women's singles champions each collecting $5.5 million — the largest champion's cheque in the sport, per NBC New York.
Sinner out, Alcaraz back
The draw's defining absence is Jannik Sinner. The world No. 1 has withdrawn with an ongoing right knee injury, per NBC New York — removing one half of the rivalry that has organised men's tennis for the past two seasons. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, returning from a wrist injury of his own, now arrives as the man to beat on the New York hard courts.
For the next three weeks, Flushing Meadows is the centre of the tennis world — and with the field this open and the stakes this high, the tournament's expanded runway may end up feeling short.