2024 U.S. Open Preview
It’s that time of the year again, when the stars of the tennis world arrive in New York to compete on the world’s biggest tennis stage. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens hosts the world’s greatest tennis players here to New York to compete under the bright lights of the city that never sleeps, and carries with it a thrilling three weeks of tennis action.
In 2023, the U.S. Open once again delivered thrilling action, and saw American phenom Coco Gauff win the first major title of her career, achieving a dream she had since she first visited the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as a kid.
“I think the first was when I was eight and I came three or four years in a row to see Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and I was just watching players compete on this court,” Gauff said. “When I was 13 or 14, I played U.S. Open juniors, and I watched the men’s final that year. So I had those visions of myself then.”
On the men’s side, it was far from the first for this winner. Novak Djokovic won the U.S. Open for the fourth time as he added the 24th major title to his resume. The victory capped off a season in which he won three of the calendar’s four majors.
“Grand Slams, I have vocalized that in the last few years, have always been the highest goal and the priority of mine in the whole season,” said Djokovic. “I don’t play as much in terms of other tournaments, so I try to prioritize my preparation so that I can peak in Slams. There are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I’m not playing a tournament.”
This year’s U.S. Open begins on August 19 with the start of qualifying matches which kicks off Fan Week, which consists of an array of events and unique exhibitions to get the 2024 U.S. Open started in style.
Long Island Tennis Magazine has broken down the contenders, pretenders and sleepers for both the men’s singles and women’s singles draw.
Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers
Men’s Singles
Contenders
Carlos Alcaraz
It’s been the summer of Carlitos. The Spanish superstar has continued to outperform the lofty expectations people have of him as he has added two more majors to his resume, winning the French Open for the first time in his career, and defending his Wimbledon title from last year. Despite still only being 21-years-old, Alcaraz has established himself as a contender and threat at every tournament he plays, and especially at the majors, when the pressure and intensity is turned up even higher. He is already a U.S. Open champion, winning in 2022, and is on record talking about how much he loves playing in front of the New York crowd. Alcaraz will be seeking a fifth major overall, and his third straight, and there is no reason to think he won’t be in contention for it.
Novak Djokovic
If it wasn’t for the aforementioned Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic would have added two more majors to his resume, as he was the runner-up at the last two Wimbledon Championships. Djokovic is the defending champion in New York and is a contender at every tournament he is a part of, which is no different at this year’s U.S. Open. With 24 major titles on his resume, Djokovic knows how to manage and navigate a two-week long draw, and handling the ups-and-downs that come along with it. While he is getting up there in age, and still managing a knee injury that forced him out of the French Open earlier this summer, few athletes are able to recover and return like Djokovic can. He did compete in the Olympics in Paris, and assuming he is healthy entering the U.S. Open, Djokovic will clearly be one of the favorites.
Tommy Paul
It’s been 21 years since an American male last won a major title, and I’m sure Tommy Paul and his fellow colleagues from the United States are tired of hearing about it. This year’s U.S. Open could provide the perfect setting for the drought to end. Paul has demonstrated he has what it takes to succeed at the Slams, with a semifinal appearance at last year’s Australian Open, and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Paul is one of the most athletic players on tour and has the game to thrive on the hard courts. He lost to fellow American Ben Shelton in the fourth round in Queens a year ago, but is poised to reach at least the second week at this year’s event, and has a great chance to snap that two-decade long streak of no majors for American men.
Pretenders
Casper Ruud
Two years ago, Casper Ruud enjoyed the best year of his young career, advancing to two major finals. First at the French Open, and then at the U.S. Open, coming up short both times however. He would make his way to the French Open final the following year, but would lose that championship match as well, making him 0-3 in major finals. Ruud’s game is perfectly suited to clay, so it’s no coincidence that the most success he has had has been at Roland Garros, which includes a deep run at this year’s Olympic Games. But hard courts are a different story. Out of his 12 career singles titles, only one of them have come on hard courts, and if you remove his run to the 2022 U.S. Open finals, Ruud has only reached the third round in Queens one time, with his other appearances be first and second round exits. The Norwegian has had a very good 2024 season thus far, don’t expect a deep run from him at the Open.
Andrey Rublev
It’s hard to think of a player who has been more consistent overall, yet has never been able to reach a semifinal of a major than Andrey Rublev. He has been a mainstay in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings for awhile now and while he has reached 10 Grand Slam quarterfinals, that’s the furthest he has advanced. At last year’s U.S. Open, he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the final eight, becoming the first player ever to lost their first nine quarterfinals, a tally which he added to at the Australian Open earlier this season. Rublev is extremely talented, but sometimes lacks the emotional maturity needed to make an even deeper run, as evidenced by the frequent outbursts he has on court. While Rublev is one of the best players in the world, until he shows he can advance past the quarterfinals, he has a ways to go to be considered a contender.
Grigor Dimitrov
The man they referred to as “Baby Fed” when he was coming up as a top junior has had a resurgent last 18 months, recapturing the form that had him projected as the leader of the next generation when he was younger. Besides Djokovic, Dimitrov is the only player in The Top 30 who is 30-years-old or older, and that combined with his injury history creates doubt on whether he can traverse the fortnight of a major. He reached the French Open quarterfinals earlier this year, but prior to that, he hadn’t reached a major quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open. At his last four U.S. Opens, he reached the third round once and the second round three times, a trend that we can expect to continue at this years’ event.
Sleepers
Lorenzo Musetti
If Alcaraz wasn’t on tour, there would be no one on the men’s side who is having a better summer than Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. Heading into the Olympic Games, Musetti climbed 75 spots in the rankings, moving into the edge of the Top 15. While he hasn’t won any titles, he has shown he is capable of competing with and beating the world’s best players, which includes two wins over American Taylor Fritz, and a difficult five-set defeat to Djokovic at the French Open. After that defeat, he competed at Wimbledon where he compiled the best run at a major at his career, powering his way to the semifinals, the first time he made it out of the fourth round at any of the majors. At the Olympic Games, he defeated Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinals, and seems to be peaking at just the right time. Look for the young Italian to continue his 2024 success at this year’s U.S. Open.
Arthur Fils
The second highest ranked French player on tour, Arthur Fils is a bright young player who has all the tools to be one of the best in the world. Fils has a strong forehand and monster serve, a skill set that makes him a threat, especially on the hard courts. He is still coming into his own as a player, so he does not have the accolades yet, save for one title at the Hamburg Open earlier this season. However, at the Wimbledon Championships, Fils compiled his best showing at a major by reaching the fourth round, a result he will aim to duplicate and build upon when he arrives in New York.
Alex de Minaur
It’s hard to call someone ranked sixth in the world a sleeper at a tournament, but in the case of Alex de Minaur, it somehow seems appropriate. You don’t hear his name mentioned a lot when there are discussions on the best players on tour, and yet, he is one of them. The 25-year-old Australian has had a wonderful 2024 season, posting a record of 36-12 while earning two titles, and cracking into the Top 10 for the first time in his career. At the Wimbledon championships earlier this summer, were it not for an injury he suffered in the previous round, he would have taken on Djokovic in the quarterfinals with a chance at reaching the first major semifinal of his career. That quarterfinal run came on the heels of reaching the French Open quarterfinals, and de Minaur will be out to move at least one step further when he begins play at the U.S. Open.
Women’s Singles
Contenders
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff suffered an earlier-than-expected exit at the Olympic Games in Paris, so look for the young American to be even more motivated when she arrives in New York for the U.S. Open. Gauff reached the summit a year ago when she won the first and only major title of her career in Flushing Meadows, overcoming the power of Aryna Sabalenka to come back from a set down and win. Gauff followed that up by reaching the final four at the Australian Open to begin this season, demonstrating just how good she is on the hard courts. With one of the backhands on the women’s tour, if Gauff can continue to improve her forehand, she will have no real weaknesses for her opponent to attack. Look for the 20-year-old to be determined to defend her title.
Iga Swiatek
There is no doubting that the best player on the women’s tour for the last several years hails from Poland. While people always discuss how wide open the women’s game is, Iga Swiatek remains at the top, and continues to be the standard-bearer. Swiatek is a five-time major champion, which includes four French Open titles and one U.S. Open triumph, a tournament she won in 2022. While it has not been the typically-dominant season for Swiatek, as she lost in the early rounds at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, as well as failing to medal at the Olympic Games, all that means is Swiatek will be fresh entering the U.S. Open. Her aggressive, all-court style of play should be on full display at this year’s event as she aims to add a sixth major to her resume.
Qinwen Zheng
A player who has been able to beat Swiatek is China’s Qinwen Zheng, one of the brightest young players on the women’s tour. She is not a name that a lot of people know, but is still only 22-years-old, and is one of the most powerful players in the women’s game. She was named the Most Improved Player on the WTA Tour at the end of the 2023 season, momentum she carried into this year. To begin August, she knocked off Swiatek in straight sets to reach the final four at the Olympic Games, which continued a wonderful first seven months of her 2024 season. It began with a run to the Australian Open final, the first major final of her career, and includes a title in Palermo. A year ago, Zheng burst onto the scene by reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and with another year of tour experience under her belt, Zheng will be out to go even further at this year’s event.
Pretenders – Women’s Singles
Barbora Krejčíková
While she is the reigning Wimbledon champion who also has a French Open title on her resume, the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejčíková could be due for an early exit at the U.S. Open. Krejčíková is a consistent player with an all-around game, yet it has not always translated to success here in New York. She reached the quarterfinals back in 2021, but since that, she only has a second round showing in 2022, and was bounced in her opening match a year ago. That is a trend that may continue in late August at this year’s U.S. Open, a tournament that has not always been kind to her.
Jasmine Paolini
One of the most improved players on the WTA Tour this season is the Italian Jasmine Paolini. The 28-year-old has put together the best season of her career in 2024, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, and the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, after never having made it out of the second round at any major in her career. She is a short player with great groundstrokes, but oftentimes can struggle on her serve, not allowing her to win some free, easy points that can be extremely beneficial on hard courts. There is no doubting how good of a season it has been Paolini, and one that has seemingly come out of nowhere, but don’t expect her to duplicate the runs she had at Roland Garros and the All-England Club when she arrives at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Aryna Sabalenka
A year ago, Aryna Sabalenka was so close to having a U.S. Open title on her impressive career resume. She was up one set on Coco Gauff before dropping the final two, failing to add another major to go along with her two Australian Open titles. Sabalenka has been consistently inside the top 3 of the women’s tour, often exchanging places with Iga Swiatek, but it was not the best summer for the Belarusian. A shoulder injury kept her out of the Wimbledon Championships and will be interesting to see the lingering effects, if any, it has on her. If her shoulder injury is still bothering her, it could affect her serve, something that has presented her problems in the past, and if that’s the case, it could be an uncharacteristically early exit from the U.S. Open for her.
Sleepers – Women’s Singles
Jessica Pegula
Can the New York-crowd get behind Jessica Pegula enough to carry her to the U.S. Open title? We all know how impactful the U.S. Open crowd can be when it lends its support to a player, and Pegula hopes it can have that type of effect on her. The Buffalo-born Pegula has been such a consistent player over the last several years and has resided in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings for quite a while, but that has not led to Grand Slam success however. Similar to Rublev on the men’s side, there seems to be a roadblock between the quarterfinals and semifinals at majors for Pegula, as she lost all six quarterfinals she has played in. An injury effected her through the mid-part of the season, forcing her out of the French Open, and she had an early exit at Wimbledon, but this year’s U.S. Open could be different for Pegula. She has acknowledged the struggles she has at this stage, and seems poised to break the chain.
“I had a spell where I couldn’t win a first round. Then it became I would win my first two, then I would kind of lose in the third round. Now I’ve made a lot of quarters but I haven’t made a semi,” she reflected. “I think there’s always those little gaps where once you break through, it feels great, feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders a little bit.”
Donna Vekic
A couple of months ago, Donna Vekic compiled the best run of her career as she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. It was there she suffered a difficult three-set defeat, the longest women’s semifinal in tournament history, to Jasmine Paolini which, at points, left her in tears. But it was an important tournament for Vekic who is having a resurgent season, and will look to build on that when she plays at the U.S. Open. Five years ago, Vekic made the final eight of the U.S. Open, which remains her best showing in New York, but that’s something that could be set to change this year. She has the groundstokes capable of combating the power of the top players, and will be a dangerous opponent for anyone in the draw.
Paula Badosa
New York City-born Paula Badosa has had an injury-riddled last couple of seasons that have resulted in her falling outside the Top 60. But Badosa has all the talent to be able to make a deep run at a major, and as we have seen at past major events, there is oftentimes a female player that comes out of nowhere to reach the later rounds. Badosa has climbed as high as second in the world rankings and is aiming to rekindle that form. A month ago, she reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon which is encouraging, and will be competing in many of the U.S. Open series tournaments to prepare for the hard courts of the U.S. Open. Badosa has a powerful serve and top-tier groundstrokes, and will look to use those to shock some people in Queens.
