Every year the drought continues, the question hangs over the U.S. Open.
Who will be the next American man to win the tournament in Queens?
Andy Roddick remains the last to do so, but his 2003 U.S. Open championship happened more than two decades ago. That’s the last title won by an American man at any of the four Grand Slam events.
And while U.S. men’s tennis has been on the upswing — with Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe all earning top-10 rankings in recent years — no one has been able to break through at the biggest tournament on American soil.
“There’s a window,” Tiafoe said at last year’s Open. “There’s an opening in the game. … We had three greats playing at the same time and winning events. Obviously, you had some sleepers come out of nowhere and win the U.S. Open.”
Indeed, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are retired, while Novak Djokovic is 38 years old. That international trio combined to win 13 Opens from 2004-2023.
Last year marked the first time two American men met in a U.S. Open semifinal since 2005, with Fritz defeating Tiafoe in an instant-classic five-set marathon.
Fritz became the first American since Roddick in 2006 to reach the Open final, but Italy’s Jannik Sinner cruised past him in straight sets to claim the 2024 championship.
It’s been a long time since Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras won five Open titles apiece, or when John McEnroe claimed four.
“Everybody wants that big next Grand Slam or next big moment for an American star,” Shelton said last year. “But I think the gradual improvement and progression is what’s really going to put Americans more towards the top of the game.”
Fritz enters this year’s Open as the No. 4 player in the ATP rankings, while Shelton is No. 6, Paul is No. 14 and Tiafoe is No. 17.
But the U.S. men’s pursuit of history is far from the only storyline going into the 2025 U.S. Open, which begins Sunday and runs through Sept. 7.
Here’s what else to look forward to at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
COCO REDO
Last year’s U.S. Open didn’t go as Coco Gauff hoped.
After winning the Open as a 19-year-old in 2023, Gauff entered last year’s tournament with sky-high expectations, only to be eliminated in the fourth round by another American, Emma Navarro, in the fourth round.
“Because I’m wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing,” Gauff said at the time. “But I’m not going to beat myself up and be, like, ‘This was so bad.’ Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.”
Gauff rebounded to win this year’s French Open for her second major singles title.
However, Gauff — who is No. 3 in the WTA rankings — returns to the U.S. Open after a down performance at the Cincinnati Open, where she served 16 double faults during a quarterfinal loss to Jasmine Paolini.
SIN CITY
If not for a meltdown at the French Open, the 24-year-old Sinner would be seeking a sweep of this year’s Grand Slam tournaments.
Instead, Sinner lost in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros in June, despite winning the first two sets.
Still, Sinner has plenty to gain at this year’s U.S. Open, where he arrives as the defending champion and as the world’s top-ranked player.
After winning this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon, Sinner would become the 12th man to win three Grand Slam events in a single season. The last to do it was Djokovic in 2023.
REMATCH?
While this has been the summer of Sinner, it certainly has been a successful few months for Alcaraz, too.
After his comeback victory at Roland-Garros, Alcaraz met Sinner in the Wimbledon final, with the latter winning in four sets.
Should the world’s top two players meet in the U.S. Open final, it would mark the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament where they faced each other at the end.
Sinner and Alcaraz have squared off once before at the Open, with Alcaraz winning their 2022 quarterfinal matchup in four sets.
MUST-WATCH WILLIAMS
Venus Williams is set to compete at the Open as a wild-card entrant, marking her first Grand Slam tournament in two years.
Her previous such appearance also came at the Open, where she lost in the first round in 2023.
Williams, 45, won the Open in 2000 and 2001. The seven-time Grand Slam champion last advanced to the second round of the Open in 2019.
“Coming off of this match, I feel amazing,” Williams said after this month’s first-round exit at the Cincinnati Open, according to ESPN.
“So that means that in this next period [ahead of the U.S. Open] I won’t have to fix injuries. Now I can work on power and speed instead of trying to just make sure I’m not hurt going into the tournament.”
DJOKER JUXTAPOSTION
The last two U.S. Opens could not have gone more differently for Djokovic.
He won the tournament in 2023, defeating Daniil Medvedev for his 24th major title, which remains a record.
But last year, Djokovic suffered an all-time upset to No. 28 Alexei Popyrin in the third round, saying afterward he played “some of the worst tennis I have ever played.”
The 2023 Open remains Djokovic’s last Grand Slam title. And while Djokovic has not indicated retirement is imminent, he has suggested multiple times this year that he doesn’t know how much longer he will play.
“My wish is to play for several more years,” Djokovic said at Wimbledon in June. “I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level. That’s the goal. But you never know at this stage.”
For that reason, Djokovic — like Williams — is a must-watch at this year’s Open.
AMERICAN MOMENTUM
Fritz, Tiafoe, Shelton and company aren’t the only Americans seeking U.S. Open glory.
A pair of U.S. women — Jessica Pegula and Navarro — also seek to build on last year’s success at the tournament.
The Buffalo-born Pegula, 31, reached the Open final last year, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
That was the first trip to a Grand Slam final for Pegula, who is the world’s No. 4-ranked player and still seeks her first major championship.
Navarro, too, seeks her first Grand Slam title.
The native New Yorker’s run to the Open semifinal last year remains her best finish at a major tournament.
Navarro, 24, also lost to Sabalenka at last year’s tournament. She enters this year’s event at No. 11 in the WTA rankings.
