The 2026 U.S. Open tennis tournament is underway, with mixed doubles action kicking off on Tuesday and the main draw set to begin in New York City next week.

Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s men’s title winner, will attempt to defend his crown as he looks to come back from a wrist injury that’s kept him out of play since April.

He’ll take part in the mixed doubles competition alongside great Serena Williams, who made her return to tennis in June after her retirement from the sport nearly four years earlier. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, has withdrawn from the tournament due to injury.

On the women’s side, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka looks to become the first woman since Williams to win three straight U.S. Open titles. Former U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff, fresh off a big Cincinnati Open win, is hoping to have similar success in Queens.

The Grand Slam tournament is known to attract big names, including President Donald Trump, who has made a habit of positioning himself next to major sports events as he faces abysmal poll numbers amid his unpopular Iran war.

It’s unclear whether Trump, whose appearance at last year’s men’s final prompted boos in Arthur Ashe Stadium, will return to his home borough of Queens when this year’s final goes down on Sept. 13.

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Fox Sports on Monday posted a video, “President Donald Trump is the Sports President,” that highlighted his attendance at sporting events. But the Instagram entry riled up observers, who called it “propaganda” and a “reminder” of the network’s relation to Fox News. Read and watch below.

NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Roger Federer will make a long-awaited curtain call for his adoring fans at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday as the man who defined a generation of tennis plays in an exhibition event ahead of the U.S. Open singles main draw.

His final U.S. Open match in 2019 lacked the romantic sendoff that fans have come to expect for former champions, as the Swiss exited in the quarter-finals with many expecting him to return to play at the event again.

But he was absent from the U.S Open in 2020 and played in his final slam at Wimbledon in 2021, leaving the New York tournament he once dominated without a proper farewell.

“It really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you, goodbye, which is I think important for some,” said Federer, whose five consecutive wins are unmatched by any man in the Open Era. “For me it is, and it’s a nice thing to do.”

Tuesday’s exhibition, “US Open: Roger Federer - An Icon Returns to NY,” was fetching upwards of $2,000 on Ticketmaster’s resale platform on Monday, and the Swiss Maestro said he only hoped he could hit the right notes after a long layoff.

“It’s nerve-wracking, to be honest. I haven’t played a single set in - I don’t know - maybe five years. Don’t know how it’s going to go tomorrow,” he told reporters. “There’s a lot of uncertainty, but a lot of happiness that I can return.”

Federer will play alongside fellow retired greats Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where newly un-retired American Serena Williams is due to play mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the day.

The 44-year-old Williams’ return to New York had Flushing Meadows buzzing on Monday, as fans had already begun to flood the plaza to catch some of the singles qualifying tournament.

Asked if he would ever consider accepting a wild card to the singles competition, Federer, who is only one year Williams’ senior, was emphatic: “No, no, no, no, no, no.”

“I’ve got just way too many obstacles and I’m too busy - I’m barely finding time to play any exos,” said Federer, who is due to be inducted in the Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday. “The body is done.”

The U.S. Open men’s and women’s singles main draw begins on Sunday.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Stan Wawrinka will not get a final on-court goodbye at the U.S. Open after the three-time major champion was denied a wild card into the men’s singles draw.

Wawrinka, 41, announced in December that he would retire at the end of 2026. After reaching the third round of the Australian Open, he fell in the first round of the next two Grand Slam events -- in four sets at both the French Open and at Wimbledon.

The 2016 U.S. Open champion from Switzerland had hoped to conclude his Grand Slam career at Flushing Meadows but did not receive one of the final wild cards announced over the weekend and will not play in this week’s qualifying tournament. There are no specific rules related to the issuing of U.S. Open wild cards, which typically go to players from the host nation, notable players returning from injury and popular players who are retiring in the near future.

Gael Monfils, 39, has also announced that 2026 will be his last on tour. He has never won a Grand Slam event and is ranked 307th compared to Wawrinka at No. 127, but the Frenchman did receive a reciprocal wild card into the U.S. Open draw through the French Tennis Federation.

The USTA gives wild cards to the French and Australian federations, and the Australian wild card went to Alexei Popyrin. When Popyrin was elevated into the main draw following the withdrawal of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, his wild card went to fellow Australian Dane Sweeny.

Other wild cards in the men’s draw included Michael Zheng, the 22-year-old who qualified for each of the first three Grand Slam events this year, American J.J. Wolf and 22-year-olds Martin Damm and Sebastian Gorzny. Boys under-18s national champion Jack Kennedy also received a wild card.

Damm made the main draw when Ethan Quinn withdrew on Aug. 20, with Damm’s wild card reallocated to Darwin Blanch. The USTA held one wild-card spot back, and ultimately awarded it to former Boys’ 18s national champion Patrick Kypson on Saturday.

—Field Level Media

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will have to wait a little longer to learn their first opponent in the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship.

Williams and Alcaraz were drawn Sunday to face one of the teams that advances from the eight-team qualifying tournament that will be played Monday.

Williams will be returning to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022. The six-time singles champion and Alcaraz, who has won the men’s title twice, were awarded a wild card into the 16-team tournament Saturday.

The first round and quarterfinals of the mixed doubles are Tuesday, with the semifinals and final on Wednesday. The winning team shares $1 million.

Facing one of the qualifiers will be a tough assignment, because most of the players in the qualifying tournament are doubles specialists. The qualifying tournament was added this year to give those types of players a chance to compete after they were almost entirely shut out last year when the U.S. Tennis Association, seeking more star power, revamped the mixed doubles and based direct entry on the players’ rankings in singles.

Two-time defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka and 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic earned the No. 1 seed after having the lowest combined singles ranking among the teams. They will face the pair of Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe in their first match.

Americans Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz are seeded No. 2 and will open against Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud. Ruud was scheduled to play again with Iga Swiatek, after they reached the final in 2025. But Swiatek withdrew and Schnaider needed a partner after Daniil Medvedev pulled out.

The other first-round matches: Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, who are married, vs. Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime; Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli vs. Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev; Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik vs. the other team from the qualifying tournament; Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul vs. Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien; Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev vs. two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori; and Shnaider and Ruud vs. Pegula and Fritz.

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MASON, Ohio (AP) — Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 6-4, to capture her second women’s Cincinnati Open title on Sunday, and Arthur Fils of France defeated American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, in the men’s final for his first Masters 1000 title.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Pegula beat defending champion Iga Swiatek and Gauff defeated Sara Bejlek to set up the first all-American women’s final at the Cincinnati Open in 56 years.

The last time two American women played in the Cincinnati final was in 1970, when Rosie Casals beat Nancy Richey.

Pegula’s best finish in Cincinnati came in 2024, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff, who won the 2023 title beating Karolina Muchova, stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first set on Sunday before winning 6-2. Pegula battled back to within 5-4 in the second before Gauff closed out the win. Gauff won five of six break points.

“I think it was a long journey, but I’m happy,” Gauff said. “I think it’s night and day, the player I was last year to now. I don’t think that this is an indicator that I’m going to do well in New York. Just knowing the quality ones that I had this week, hopefully I can use that experience.”

Gauff had five wins in straight sets in Cincinnati.

“I thought she just played at a really high level and didn’t really have many dips,” Pegula said. “I didn’t really think I played bad. The more you construct the point (against her), the worse it is because she almost likes to run. It was tough today. A dangerous, confident Coco is going to New York.”

The head-to-head series between Gauff and Pegula is now tied at five apiece. Sunday was their second meeting in a final, with Gauff winning at Wuhan last year.

The Fils-Tiafoe match was the first time two Black players have met in an ATP Masters 1000 final.

Fils is the third Black man to win a Masters 1000 title, joining Ben Shelton, who won twice in Canada, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won in Paris in 2008 and Canada in 2014.

At 22 years old, Fils is the youngest French champion in Masters 1000 history. He became the second French player to win a Cincinnati final, joining Guy Forget in 1991.

“Very happy with that,” Fils said. “It’s been a tough last year. I didn’t play the French Open (due to a hip injury). I lost early in Washington. People think that I’m done. But here we are. I got the title.”

It was the second time Tiafoe has appeared in the Cincinnati Open final, losing to Jannik Sinner in 2024. He was looking to become the first American male to win in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2006.

“I’m going to have two Cincinnati finals trophies at the crib,” Tiafoe said. “I wish they were both champion ones. Losing on Sunday sucks. I’ve had a tough summer. I was able to play five great matches and beat quality players.”

Fils overpowered Tiafoe early in the first set on Sunday, winning 12 of 13 points to take a 3-0 lead. Tiafoe was dominant in the second, rolling to a 3-0 lead.

Tiafoe used the time break before the third set to stretch and receive massage treatment on his upper left leg and lower back.

“My hip bothered me a little bit, but that’s neither here nor there,” Tiafoe said. “It’s not about how I feel. I’ll be alright in a week (for the US Open).”

Tiafoe saved three championship points in the final game before Fils closed out the victory.

The Frenchman had 11 aces and won 71% of his points on first serve. He improved to 10-0 in deciding sets this year and 8-0 against American opponents.

Fils also won his only previous meeting with Tiafoe in Miami last year, also in three sets.

“It feels very good to have a trophy next to me, especially Masters 1000,” Fils said. “Never won one before. You just have to stay positive and find a way to make it work. Being positive is going to help me in the next weeks in the US Open.”

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