Tennis: here is the US Open, 13 Italians on the court and the return of Alcaraz

Everything is ready at Flushing Meadows Park for the Us Open, fourth and final Grand Slam round of the season, starting on Sunday on the hard courts in New York. The 2026 edition will start without Jannik Sinner: the world number one withdrew from the tournament due to ainflammation of the right knee.

Zverev seeded at US Open

A heavy absence that changes the balance of the men’s draw and gives Alexander Zverev the top seed. The German will debut against Lorenzo Sonegobut much of the focus will be on Carlos Alcaraz. The reigning champion, number 2 in the seeding, returns to singles after more than four months of stopping and practically non-existent preparation on American hard courts. The Spaniard will start against Roman Safiullin, with Matteo Arnaldi (who should play on his debut against James Duckworth, who however withdrew on Friday evening at the Winston-Salem Open) a possible opponent in the third round, and with Arthur Fils or Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals and Novak Djokovic on the way to the final. Physical condition and wrist strength represent the main unknowns of the Murciano.

Italy, despite lacking its best player, presents several interesting cards

Flavio Cobolli arrives in New York from number 5 of the scoreboard, the best placement on the starting board in his career in a Slam. The Roman will make his debut against Francisco Comesana and could find Taylor Fritz in the round of 16 and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. A derby with could also materialize in the semi-final Lorenzo Musetti. Carrara, thirteenth seeded, returns to a Major after missing Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The debut against Arthur Fery precedes a possible derby in the third round with Luciano Darderi (making his debut on the pitch against the British Wendelken); while in the round of 16 the obstacle could be the German Zverev.

Per Matteo Berrettini, instead, the return to Flushing Meadows after two years will begin against Stan Wawrinka. The scoreboard doesn’t give him time to settle in: Novak Djokovic could already be in the second round. Once past the Serbian, the road would lead to Rublev or Nakashima in the round of 16, Medvedev in the quarterfinals and Alcaraz in the semifinals.

The blue patrol, male, is very large

In addition to the aforementioned Sonego, Arnaldi, Cobolli, Musetti, Darderi and Berrettini, there are at the starting line Mattia Bellucci, who will play the first against the Hungarian qualifier Zsombor Piros, and three Italians promoted from the cadet table, who have brought the Italian team to ten units. It’s about Andrea Guerrieri, who will challenge the Australian Alex De Minaur (sixth seeding), from Umbria, on his absolute debut in a Major Francesco Passaro, who will face the Dutch Jesper De Jong, and the Sicilian Federico Cinà, who will face the American Alex Michelsen.

Three Italians and Djokovic will be on the court immediately on Sunday

Three Italians will take the field tomorrow, on the first day. In New York, at 5pm Italian time, Jasmine Paolini will open the program on Louis Armstrong vs Slovenian Veronika Erjavec. Also expected, again in the women’s singles, is the debut of Lucrezia Stefaninipromoted by the qualifiers, against Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska: if both (Paolini and Stefanini) were to win on their debut they would then face each other in a tricolor derby with a place in the third round up for grabs.

He will be on the field for the men Federico Cinà, He too was promoted from the qualifiers, in the last match on field 17, against the American Alex Michelsen. Finally, in the first evening session on Arthur Ashe, the spotlight will be on Novak Djokovic, four-time winner of the US Open, who will begin his pursuit of his twenty-fifth Slam title in his first direct match with Mariano Navone. The program will close with the derby between Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin.