Championship week has arrived at Flushing Meadows, and Friday’s US Open 2026 quarterfinals mark the moment when the eight remaining men and eight remaining women in each singles draw fight for a place in Saturday’s semifinals. With world No. 1 Jannik Sinner absent from the tournament entirely and four-time champion Novak Djokovic long gone after a first-round shock, this year’s men’s draw looks unlike any in recent memory, wide open for a new name to make a statement in New York.
The stakes could hardly be higher. A place in the final four means one win away from a Grand Slam final appearance, and for several of the remaining contenders, this represents the best opportunity they have had in years to go deep at a major. On the women’s side, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka remains the player to beat, but a deep and unpredictable field means nothing is guaranteed.
Here is a full breakdown of how the US Open 2026 quarterfinals have shaped up, who remains in contention, and what to watch for as the tournament heads toward its final weekend.
What Happened? A Draw Reshaped by Absences
This year’s men’s singles field was thrown into flux before a ball was even struck. Sinner, the defending 2024 champion and world No. 1, withdrew from the tournament, elevating Alexander Zverev to the top seed in New York despite sitting at world No. 2 in the actual rankings. Then, in one of the biggest shocks of the season, Djokovic was beaten by Argentina’s Mariano Navone in five sets in the first round, marking the first time in 20 US Open appearances that the Serbian star had lost before the third round.
With both Sinner and Djokovic out of the picture, the men’s draw has opened up considerably for the remaining contenders, including Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and rising Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar, among others still alive heading into the last eight.
Match Overview: Men’s Quarterfinal Picture
Alcaraz enters the quarterfinals as the defending champion, having won the title in 2025, but his path back to New York has not been straightforward. The Spaniard was out of action for more than four months earlier in the year with a wrist injury sustained in Barcelona, making this tournament only his second event back on tour. According to the seeding laid out before the tournament, Alcaraz’s section of the draw included potential clashes with Ben Shelton or Arthur Fils, both Masters 1000 champions this season, underlining how difficult his route to the semifinals has been.
Zverev, as the top seed, was projected to meet sixth seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals, while third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was seeded to face fifth seed Flavio Cobolli in the same stage of the draw. Whether the draw plays out exactly to seeding will become clear as Friday’s matches conclude.
Women’s Quarterfinal Picture
Sabalenka arrives at the quarterfinal stage as the top seed and two-time defending champion, chasing a third consecutive US Open title, a feat that would put her in rare company in the sport’s modern era. The Belarusian has looked to be in career-best form for much of the season and remains the clear favorite heading into the final rounds, though the depth of the women’s field means every match carries real danger.
Statistics and Records
Djokovic’s first-round exit was itself a historically significant moment, ending his personal streak of never losing before the third round at Flushing Meadows and snapping what had been the longest opening-round winning streak in Grand Slam history for either tour. That single result reshaped the entire complexion of the men’s draw days before the quarterfinals even arrived, removing one of the tournament favorites and one of the most experienced deep-tournament competitors in the sport.
The absence of both Sinner and Djokovic from the final eight also means this will be the first US Open quarterfinal round in several years without at least one member of tennis’s dominant recent trio of Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Sinner fully represented at full strength, adding to the sense that this year’s tournament could produce a genuinely fresh finalist.
What This Means Going Forward
For Alcaraz, advancing through the quarterfinals would represent a significant statement given the injury layoff and light match schedule he has carried into the tournament. For Zverev, already a Grand Slam champion this season after winning Roland Garros, a strong showing in New York would further cement his position at the top of the men’s game in Sinner’s continued absence from the tour.
On the women’s side, anything less than a Sabalenka run to the final would be considered a surprise given her recent dominance at the tournament, but the depth of contenders remaining means the draw is far from a formality.
Upcoming Fixtures
The winners of Friday’s quarterfinal matches advance to Saturday’s semifinals, setting up the path to the finals. The women’s singles final is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, followed by the men’s singles final on Sunday, September 13, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.
FAQ Section
Q: Why is Jannik Sinner not playing in the US Open 2026?
A: Sinner withdrew from the tournament, which pushed Alexander Zverev into the top seed position in the men’s draw.
Q: Who knocked Novak Djokovic out of the US Open 2026?
A: Argentina’s Mariano Navone beat Djokovic in five sets in the first round, ending his run at the earliest stage in his US Open history.
Q: Is Carlos Alcaraz the defending champion at the US Open 2026?
A: Yes, Alcaraz won the title in 2025 and is defending it after returning from a wrist injury that kept him out for more than four months.
Q: When is the US Open 2026 final?
A: The women’s final is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, and the men’s final for Sunday, September 13.
Q: Who is the top seed in the women’s draw?
A: Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, enters the quarterfinals as the top seed.
