NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz walks back into Arthur Ashe Stadium with a title to defend and a question to answer: how quickly can a genius find his rhythm after four months on the shelf?
The Spaniard, absent since April with a right wrist injury, opens his US Open campaign on Aug 31 (Sept 1, Singapore time) against Roman Safiullin, a dangerous first hurdle for a man trying to bookend his year with Grand Slam trophies. He started 2024 by winning the Australian Open and becoming the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam. Now he wants to close the circle in New York.
He returns insisting the wrist is ready. Alcaraz has spoken of brutal practice blocks, of testing the joint to its limit, of being prepared to “go 100 percent”. The draw offers no easing-in period to check that claim.
Alcaraz back under the lights
Safiullin knows exactly how to trouble him. Their head-to-head stands at 1-1, and the Russian owns one of the more jarring results of Alcaraz’s recent past – that upset at the ATP Paris Masters in 2023, when Safiullin bullied him from the baseline and blew a hole in his late-season momentum.
Alcaraz struck back at the Paris Olympics the following year, but the message was clear: give Safiullin time on the ball and he can swing freely with the game to hurt anyone.
The 29-year-old arrives in New York with quiet confidence after a solid Wimbledon. He blasted past Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca to reach the fourth round on grass, eventually bowing out to Novak Djokovic in four sets. That run underlined his power and resilience, the kind that can expose any rust in Alcaraz’s movement or timing.
For the defending champion, this is a test of nerve as much as of the wrist. The crowd will roar, the lights will glare, and across the net stands a man who has already proved he can drag him into uncomfortable rallies. If Alcaraz really is ready to hit full throttle, this is the night to show it.
Sabalenka’s slide meets a familiar foe
On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka steps into Day 2 with a very different kind of tension. She is chasing history, fighting form and protecting a ranking, all at once.
The two-time defending US Open champion opens against Colombia’s Camila Osorio, a player she has beaten twice but never on hard courts. Their previous meetings came on the grass of Wimbledon in 2021 and the clay of Madrid in 2023. Sabalenka handled both assignments, yet she arrives now with far less certainty.
Back in March, she looked untouchable on hard courts, sweeping back-to-back WTA titles at Indian Wells and Miami. She added the Brisbane trophy and reached the Australian Open final in January. Then the season turned. A quarter-final exit at Roland Garros. A fourth-round loss at Wimbledon. The aura slipped.
Her slump has been so pronounced that even a third straight title in New York – a feat only Chris Evert and Serena Williams have managed – might not be enough to keep her at world No. 1. The margin at the top is that fine.
Sabalenka, though, has never shied away from the fight. She insists the mid-season wobble has not shaken her belief, leaning into the challenge with a line that sums up her mindset: “Throw tough challenges at me, I will come back stronger.” Osorio, ranked 59, will try to test that resolve. Sabalenka will try to remind the field why, not long ago, hard courts felt like her personal territory.
Osaka returns to her old stage
Naomi Osaka walks into Flushing Meadows with something Sabalenka once had and Alcaraz is chasing: the feeling of having already conquered this place.
The Japanese star owns two US Open titles, from 2018 and 2020, part of a four-major haul that once made her the dominant force on hard courts. She has not lifted a Grand Slam trophy since the 2019–20 Australian Open stretch, a five-year drought that has played out against the backdrop of a brutally honest public battle with mental health and a 15-month break to become a mother.
Her opponent on Day 2 is Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova, ranked 101 in the world. They have never faced each other. On paper, it is the kind of match Osaka used to devour. But this is a different chapter.
Osaka has started to stitch together results again. She reached the semi-finals in Washington on hard courts, then backed it up with a quarter-final run in Toronto in August. On grass, she produced her best-ever Wimbledon performance in 2026, reaching the quarter-finals and taking out Sabalenka along the way – a result that hinted her competitive edge had survived the time away.
Now she returns to the surface and stadium that once felt like home. “I think I’ve proven myself here, so I can kind of bank on that and use that to have confidence,” she said, leaning on memory as much as match play.
For Osaka, a quick start against Zakharova would be more than just a routine win. It would be a statement that the former champion is not just back in New York, but ready to matter again on the second week.
Alcaraz defending, Sabalenka clinging, Osaka rebuilding. Day 2 at the US Open is not just about who advances. It’s about who still owns this stage, and who is about to take it from them.
