NEW YORK — The second week of the 2026 US Open has arrived, and for the first time in decades, the American flag is flying high across both singles draws. Fifteen U.S. players — eight women and seven men — reached the third round, the most since 2002. Ten have advanced to the round of 16, and five American men are into the fourth round for the first time since 1995.
That year, none of the current crop of American men were even born. Andy Roddick was the last U.S. man to win a Grand Slam, at the 2003 US Open. Coco Gauff ended the women’s drought in 2023. Now, with top seeds falling and the draw blown wide open, this could be the moment the home fans have been waiting for.
The numbers are staggering. Six of the top 10 seeded men were eliminated before the third round. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is absent with a knee injury. Novak Djokovic lost in the first round. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is playing his first tournament in five months after a wrist injury. Into that void steps a generation of Americans who have grown up together in the USTA development program, and who now see opportunity everywhere they look.
Jessica Pegula, the top-ranked American at No. 3, has been on a tear. The 32-year-old reached finals in Washington and Cincinnati, beating Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova along the way. She has lost just nine games in her first two matches at the Open and fought past 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez on Friday. A win over soon-to-retire Sorana Cirstea would put her in the quarterfinals and keep alive her shot at both a first major title and the world No. 1 ranking.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 champion, arrived in New York with a vengeance after a career-best Wimbledon semifinal and a title in Cincinnati. The 22-year-old needed a second-set tiebreak to dispatch former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, a player who had beaten her twice before. Now she faces 18-year-old fellow American Iva Jovic, who has been the story of the tournament.
Jovic, ranked No. 14, won her first WTA title at the Guadalajara Open last fall, reached the Australian Open quarterfinals, and just defeated friend Alexandra Eala in a three-hour blockbuster on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was her debut on the big court, and she promptly fell to the ground after match point. Monday will bring an all-American clash that feels like a passing of the torch.
Emma Navarro, a 2024 semifinalist, struggled through the summer but seems back. She beat No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova, the Wimbledon runner-up, in straight sets. Taylor Townsend, the doubles specialist, routed 2026 French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska and then upset No. 15 Diana Shnaider. Townsend will next face two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, and she is not intimidated. “I am fucking pumped,” she told the crowd. “I’m built for these moments.”
Among the men, Ben Shelton, the 23-year-old lefty with the booming serve, has already won two straight Canadian Open titles and is considered the best hope to break the 23-year drought. But his path has been anything but easy. He lost the first set of his opener, needed four sets against Hubert Hurkacz, and finished his match against Denis Shapovalov at 2 a.m. Saturday. Next up is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who looks revived after two years of struggles.
Frances Tiafoe, the people’s champion, has twice reached the semifinals in New York. He was pushed in his opener by wild card Martin Damm Jr., but hasn’t dropped a set since. He called his third-round win over Valentin Vacherot “the best” he has played this week. Now comes Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, who has beaten Tiafoe all six times they’ve met on tour. Medvedev, though, has been out of form, winning just one match all summer before the Open.
Learner Tien, the 20-year-old with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, has yet to drop a set. He eliminated the retiring Gael Monfils and then Jakub Mensik. Alex Michelsen, 22, stunned the red-hot Brandon Nakashima in straight sets. Tommy Paul, the 2023 Australian Open semifinalist, needed five sets to get past Alexander Bublik and now faces Carlos Alcaraz. “I mean, I’m going to have to play some pretty good tennis if I want to win that match,” Paul said with a grin, hoping the Ashe crowd will get behind him.
Even Taylor Fritz, the last American man to reach a major final, was eliminated Saturday despite being up two sets and a break against Francisco Cerundolo. His exit only underscores the volatility of this tournament. But it also leaves more room for the others.
The American surge is no accident. It is the result of years of investment in development, of friendships forged in junior tournaments and USTA training centers. Paul’s wedding this summer included his best man Reilly Opelka and groomsmen Fritz and Tiafoe. “We’re all really close,” Fritz said. “I’d consider a lot of those guys my absolute closest friends.”
Now they share a common goal. No American man has won a major since Roddick in 2003. The women have Gauff’s 2023 title, but she is the only one since Serena Williams. With six women and five men still alive in the round of 16, the question is not whether an American will win, but how many might.
The last time American men and women swept the singles titles at the US Open was 2002, when Pete Sampras and Serena Williams did it. The opportunity feels closer than ever. And for a nation that once produced household names from Connors to McEnroe to Courier to Agassi to Sampras to Roddick, the wait has been far too long. The ball is in their court.
