The early pleasantries are over. Upsets have already ripped through the men’s draw, round one is in the books, and Day 3 at the 2026 US Open is where the tournament begins to feel serious.
Coco Gauff under the lights. Elena Rybakina opening her campaign. Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz stepping into a men’s field already stripped of Jannik Sinner. If you want in on it, you’ll need to know where and how to watch — and, in some cases, how to watch without paying a cent.
How to Watch the US Open in the US
In the United States, ESPN holds the keys to Flushing Meadows. The network remains the exclusive broadcast home of the US Open, with matches spread across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, and the ESPN app. Some sessions sit on cable, some on network TV, some on streaming only, so the official schedule matters.
If you’ve cut the cord, you’re leaning on live TV streaming packages or ESPN’s own service:
- DirecTV: The base package starts at $59.99 for the first month and includes ABC and ESPN+.
- ESPN Unlimited: Direct access to ESPN’s live sports and archived programming from $29.99 per month.
- Fubo: Its Sports plan carries ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 at $65.99 per month, with a quarterly option available.
- Sling: The Essentials plan brings ESPN and ESPN2 for $19.99 per month. There’s also a Sling TV Day Pass at $4.99 if you only want to drop in for a day’s worth of tennis.
- YouTube TV: The Sports Plan includes ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 for $64.99 per month.
For many viewers, those services are overkill for a single tournament. That’s where free trials and a bit of timing come into play.
How to Watch the US Open for Free in the US
You don’t necessarily need a long-term subscription to see this year’s drama unfold.
Several major live TV platforms offer free trials that can carry you through a chunk of the event:
- DirecTV
- FuboTV
- YouTube TV
Sign up as the action ramps up, cancel before the trial ends, and you can watch without paying. It’s a familiar play, but it still works.
Another route sits halfway around the world.
9Now, VPNs, and the Australian Workaround
In Australia, 9Now will stream the 2026 US Open for free. If you’re actually in Australia, it’s as simple as loading the platform and pressing play.
If you’re in the US, the UK, or anywhere else outside that region, geo-restrictions block direct access. That’s where a virtual private network (VPN) can open the door. A VPN lets you connect to a server in another country, making streaming platforms think you’re watching from that location.
The suggested approach:
- Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN service (ExpressVPN is one option mentioned for location spoofing).
- Download the VPN app on your device.
- Connect to a server in Australia.
- Head to 9Now and start streaming the US Open.
Most of the better VPNs aren’t free, but many offer short free trials for new users. Time it right, and you can watch the tournament without paying for either a VPN or a streaming subscription.
Fine-Tuning the Viewing Experience
Once you’ve found a stream, one small setting can change how the tennis looks on your screen: motion smoothing.
Turn it on, and the ball’s flight and player movement can appear smoother and more fluid — handy for tracking blistering baseline rallies. But that same setting can make films and series look like low-budget soap operas, so it’s worth switching off once the tennis is done.
Day 3 Schedule – September 1
The first round has cleared, and the schedule for September 1 is stacked. It’s a day where seeds test their rhythm, qualifiers swing freely, and the night session promises noise.
Women’s Singles – September 1 (all times ET)
- 11 a.m.
- Maria Sakkari vs. Robin Montgomery
- Yuliia Starodubtseva vs. Ella Seidel
- Thea Frodin vs. Elena Rybakina
- Yulia Putintseva vs. Belinda Bencic
- Gabriela Andrea Knutson vs. Eva Lys
- 11:30 a.m.
- Madison Keys vs. Alina Korneeva
- 12:40 p.m.
- Mirra Andreeva vs. Janice Tjen
- 12:45 p.m.
- Darja Vidmanova vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
- 1:10 p.m.
- Lucie Havlickova vs. Anna Bondar
- Daria Kasatkina vs. Paula Badosa
- 1:40 p.m.
- Tatjana Maria vs. Jelena Ostapenko
- 1:50 p.m.
- Kaitlin Quevedo vs. Elise Mertens
- 1:55 p.m.
- Arantxa Rus vs. Leolia Jeanjean
- 2:50 p.m.
- Iva Jovic vs. Magdalena Frech
- 3:20 p.m.
- Nikola Bartunkova vs. Mayar Sherif
- 3:30 p.m.
- Oleksandra Oliynykova vs. Reese Brantmeier
- 4 p.m.
- Magda Linette vs. Francesca Jones
- 7 p.m.
- Coco Gauff vs. Zeynep Sonmez
- 8:40 p.m.
- Mary Stoiana vs. Alexandra Eala
- Cancelled
- Anastasia Potapova vs. Terez Valentova
The women’s slate offers a blend: established contenders like Rybakina, Gauff, Keys, Kasatkina, and Ostapenko sharing the day with rising names still learning what it feels like to play on these courts with the New York hum in the background.
Men’s Singles – September 1 (all times ET)
- 11 a.m.
- Francisco Comesaña vs. Flavio Cobolli
- Mattia Bellucci vs. Zsombor Piros
- Dane Sweeny vs. Corentin Moutet
- Nishesh Basavareddy vs. Tristian Schoolkate
- Filip Misolic vs. Francisco Cerúndolo
- 12:10 p.m.
- Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
- 12:50 p.m.
- Taylor Fritz vs. Darwin Blanch
- 1:10 p.m.
- Arthur Fery vs. Lorenzo Musetti
- 1:30 p.m.
- Zizou Bergs vs. Carlos Taberner
- 1:40 p.m.
- Jesper de Jong vs. Francesco Passaro
- 2:20 p.m.
- Rafael Jodar vs. Yunchaokete Bu
- Juan Manuel Cerúndolo vs. Arthur Gea
- 2:50 p.m.
- Fabian Marozsan vs. Michael Zheng
- Zachary Svajda vs. Daniel Altmaier
- Alex Molcan vs. Benjamin Bonzi
- 3 p.m.
- Jan Choinski vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
- 4:30 p.m.
- Marcos Giron vs. Ignacio Buse
- 5 p.m.
- Andrea Guerrieri vs. Alex de Minaur
- 7 p.m.
- Adolfo Daniel Vallejos Álvarez vs. Gael Monfils
- 8:10 p.m.
- Alexander Zverev vs. Lorenzo Sonego
The men’s draw has already taken some hits, but this is where the top seeds begin to stamp their authority or feel the weight of expectation. Fritz carries American hopes in his section; Zverev, the top seed in Sinner’s absence, closes the night with the sort of match that can either soothe nerves or expose them.
Tournament Structure and Key Dates
The 2026 US Open stretches across three weeks at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, running from Sunday, August 23, to Sunday, September 13.
The event breaks down as follows:
- Qualifying events: August 24–27
- Men’s and women’s singles main draws: August 30–September 13
- Mixed doubles: August 24–26
- Men’s and women’s doubles: September 3–12
- Junior events: September 3–12
- Wheelchair events: September 8–12
Finals weekend, as always, will decide legacies and rankings in a blur:
- Women’s Doubles Final: Friday, September 11
- Women’s Singles Final and Men’s Doubles Final: Saturday, September 12
- Men’s Singles Final: Sunday, September 13
By then, the noise of early upsets will have faded. Only the title contenders will remain.
Who’s in the Field?
This year’s US Open brings depth and history in equal measure. The tournament features 17 former Grand Slam singles champions, with 10 of them past US Open winners. That alone guarantees storylines on almost every court.
On the men’s side, the narrative shifted before a ball was struck: Jannik Sinner has been ruled out through injury. His absence opens the door and pushes Alexander Zverev into the No. 1 seed, with Carlos Alcaraz at No. 2 and Felix Auger-Aliassime at No. 3.
For the women, the top of the draw is loaded:
- Aryna Sabalenka as the No. 1 seed
- Elena Rybakina as No. 2
- Jessica Pegula, the American standard-bearer, at No. 3
The United States leads all nations with 28 players in the main draw. Names like Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Venus Williams give the home crowd plenty of reasons to stay late into the New York night.
The stage is set. The seeds are in place. The upsets have already started. The only question now is who you’ll be watching — and whether you’ll be paying to see it.
