The last Grand Slam of the season runs from 30 August to 13 September 2026 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Here is what the draw looks like, and how to play it.
The main draw is 128 players per singles event, cut in half every round until one is left. That is seven matches to the title — first round, second round, third round, fourth round, quarterfinal, semifinal, final. The men play best of five sets throughout; the women play best of three. Every set that reaches 6–6 is decided by a tiebreak, including the deciding set, which is where the US Open has always differed from the other three Slams.
| Round | Players left | What it usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 128 | Hold serve, survive the nerves |
| Second round | 64 | A seed, or a dangerous floater |
| Third round | 32 | The first real test of depth |
| Fourth round | 16 | Four hours in the heat, or a night session |
| Quarterfinal | 8 | A top-ten opponent, almost always |
| Semifinal | 4 | Arthur Ashe, full, loud, late |
| Final | 2 | Everything you have left |
On the men’s side the story is the one that has run all season: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have separated themselves from the field, and New York rewards exactly what they both do — first-strike tennis backed by real movement. Novak Djokovic remains the most decorated active player at this tournament and the man nobody wants in their quarter. Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz anchor the next tier, and Fritz carries a home crowd that genuinely changes matches on Ashe after dark.
On the women’s side Aryna Sabalenka has made Flushing Meadows her best surface, playing the flattest, heaviest ball in the draw. Coco Gauff has the crowd and the movement to turn any match into a physical test. Iga Świątek and Elena Rybakina come at the same problem from opposite ends — relentless topspin against a serve that ends points before a rally starts — and Jessica Pegula has the cleanest ball-striking of the American contingent.
A US Open draw is not a Wimbledon draw with different names on it. The surface pushes the ball up into the strike zone and takes away the skid, so rallies stretch and the point is rarely over in two shots. Return and movement gain weight. Pure grass craft — the biting slice, the low half-volley, the serve that stays under the hip — loses some of its edge. Add the humidity of a New York summer and the physical component becomes a genuine selector: matches go past three hours often enough that fitness reads as a shot in its own right.
In THE SLAM you do not pick a player — you build one. You draft eight shots, one at a time, from the real players of the last twenty hard-court seasons, each one re-rated for this surface. Then your composite champion plays all seven rounds against the field. Win them all and you have gone a perfect 7–0, which roughly three per cent of builds ever manage. If you want a warm-up first, the Cincinnati Masters mode runs the same ratings over a shorter, meaner Masters 1000 format.
The 2026 US Open is scheduled from 30 August to 13 September at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Qualifying and the main-draw ceremony take place in the days immediately before.
Seven. A 128-player singles draw halves every round: first round, second round, third round, fourth round, quarterfinal, semifinal and final. Winning all seven is what the game calls going 7-0.
The men play best of five sets in the main draw; the women play best of three. Every set, including the deciding one, is settled by a tiebreak at 6-6.
Yes. THE SLAM is a free browser game with no account and no download: draft a composite hard-court champion and play all seven rounds against the field.