US Open Preview: Last Grand Slam of the 2024 Season

The 2024 season comes to a close with the last major stop on the tennis calendar – the US Open at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in New York.

Up until this point, Carlos Alcaraz captured the French Open and Wimbledon titles while 2024 Miami Open champion, Jannik Sinner, nabbed the Australian Open title at the beginning of the year. On the women’s side, there have been three different champions at the three different slams. However, Jasmine Paolini has been a consistent force in the Grand Slams. She made the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon and recently won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in women’s doubles.

Last year’s US Open champions were Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff. Djokovic is looking to end 2024 on a high note after coming off a successful run to the finals at Wimbledon and avenging his loss against Alcaraz with a gold medal in Paris to complete his career Golden Slam. He is only the fifth person to do so in the Open Era.

Gauff had a historic win in 2023 becoming the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the US Open. So far, she has had personal bests at the 2024 Australian Open and French Open, reaching the semifinals at both events.

Sinner is looking to equal Alcaraz’s number of Grand Slam titles in 2024 and secure his second on the year. Last year, Alexander Zverev took out Sinner in the Round of 16 in the longest match of the 2023 US Open. The 2024 season has been his best Grand Slam results, with a current 16-2 record on the year.

In a recent announcement on social media, four-time champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the US Open, stating that he thinks he would not be able to give 100%. He plans for his next event to be Laver Cup in Berlin, Germany later this year.

In doubles, American Rajeev Ram and Brit Joe Salisbury are the current defending champions. They are looking to grab a fourth straight title at the US Open. The most US Open wins in men’s doubles in the Open Era is held by Mike Bryan at six. 2024 Miami Open finalists Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are the defending champions on the women’s doubles side. It would be Dabrowski’s fourth major title and Routliffe’s second if they were to successfully defend their title.