This week marks the opening stretch of the 2026 US Open, with the singles draws narrowing from 128 players down to the final 32 by the weekend as the tournament’s first week plays out in Flushing Meadows.
## The Week at a Glance
– Monday through Tuesday: First round concludes across both singles draws
– Wednesday through Thursday: Second round matches, with several seeded players in action for the first time since their openers
– Friday through Saturday: Third round matches, setting up the fourth-round field heading into the second week
## Storylines Shaping the Week
Top seed Alexander Zverev and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both look to build early momentum, while Aryna Sabalenka continues her bid for a third consecutive US Open title. Coco Gauff, fresh off her Cincinnati Open win, and French Open champion Mirra Andreeva are both among the week’s most closely watched contenders. For full details on how the seeding shook out heading into the week, see our US Open 2026 schedule and draw guide.
## Beyond New York
While the US Open dominates this week’s schedule, smaller ATP and WTA events also continue on the tour’s lower tiers, giving players outside the Grand Slam field opportunities to earn ranking points. These smaller events rarely draw major broadcast attention during Grand Slam weeks but remain important for players building toward the fall swing.
## How to Follow the Week
Daily order of play updates are released each morning ahead of that day’s matches, with scheduling subject to change based on weather and match length. For a look at just today’s featured matches, see our tennis matches today update, updated daily throughout the tournament.
## Looking Ahead
Once this week concludes, the tournament moves into its second week, culminating in the women’s final on September 12 and the men’s final on September 13, both previewed in our dedicated final-day guides.