Whether you’re a tennis fan or just interested in the sport, it’s hard not to be drawn into the ten days of frenzied action and out-there storylines that are uniquely the US Open. From Jannik Sinner’s Cincinnati Open run to Venus Williams at 45 years old, there are plenty of reasons to tune in this year.
The tournament, which is played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, begins Sunday with singles action and will conclude Labor Day weekend. It is the last Grand Slam of the season and the final tournament of the summer.
As with previous years, it’s impossible to know exactly what the scheduling will look like for any player until the Draw is released (around Wed/Thursday Aug 2021). Then, on a daily basis the tournament director makes decisions about which halves of each draw play in Day sessions and Night sessions, on which courts and which time of day. These aren’t announced until just a day or two before each match.
In the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka will have a tough road to the semifinals. She opens against Coco Gauff and may face a quarterfinal showdown with Iga Swiatek or a Wimbledon rematch with Amanda Anisimova. Several other Americans are in contention, including 2024 runner-up Taylor Fritz and rising talents Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien.
If you can’t make it to the tournament, you’ll be able to follow every match live on ESPN and ESPN2, as well as its streaming service, ESPN+. In addition, TSN has complete coverage in Canada and Sky Sports has wall-to-wall coverage in the UK.