Starting on August 24, the 145th US Open took place just outside of New York City, where players from around the world competed in one of four major tournaments in the sport of tennis. Trophies for doubles and singles, as well as wheelchair doubles and singles, were awarded to women, men, and mixed teams at the end of the tournament. Most of the audience was invested in singles and doubles for men and women, which featured some incredible wins and losses.
For the men’s singles draw, Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz and Italian player Jannik Sinner were the top 2 seeds (Alcaraz at 2 and Sinner at 1) after a record-breaking season for both, where Sinner won 2 majors, and Alcaraz won 1. In fact, they previously faced off in both the Wimbledon and French Open finals, both being legendary matches. From the US, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe competed to bring their country’s biggest tennis trophy home for the first time since 2003. Unfortunately, Shelton forfeited his third round against French player Adrian Mannarino, Paul was knocked out by Kazakh player Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals, Tiafoe lost in the third round to German player J.L. Struff, and Fritz was defeated by Serbian player Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
It was an absolute bloodbath for the Americans after less than a week of the tournament, but the stage was now set. Sinner and Alcaraz ripped through each match until they finally met again for the third time in a major final–a record set for a male duo. They met at the French Open final earlier this year, where Sinner won the first two sets, almost ending the match with a blowout. But in one of the largest upsets in tennis history, Alcaraz came back and won all three sets, taking the French title for himself. In the Wimbledon final, the two met again, where Sinner took his second major of the year home. The final started with Alcaraz taking the first set and breaking Sinner multiple times in front of an audience of celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen, Mindy Kaling, and even American President Donald Trump. Sinner took the second set in what looked to be another gripping match-up. However, Alcaraz was not going to let it happen again, breaking Sinner again and again before taking the last two sets and the tournament win.
For the women’s singles draw, Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka and Polish player Iga Swiatek were placed at the 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, as two hot contenders who have won a combined 10 majors. American participants included Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Ann Li, Emma Navarro, Taylor Townsend, Venus Williams, and more. Every single one was eliminated, but with exceptionally entertaining matches. Townsend had eight match points to move on into the tournament, but Czech player Barbora Krejčíková saved each of them, then continued to win the action-packed match. In the 4th round, American favorite Coco Gauff played against Japanese player Naomi Osaka, who blazed through each round in an unexpected run after a rough season. Osaka won two sets and moved on to the quarterfinal, where she beat Czech player Karolína Muchová. Pegula took the first set against Sabalenka in the semifinal, but the Belarusian powered through and took the second and third sets to move on to the final. Naomi Osaka faced off against American Amanda Anisimova for a nail-biting finish, where Anisimova moved on to the final. Anisimova played against Sabalenka in the final, where Sabalenka took the first set 6-3. The match continued on, where Anisimova took Sabalenka to a tiebreak in the second set, one which Sabalenka took control of, beating Anisimova and winning her 4th major.
Along with the attendance of various celebrities, many notable moments from the tournament have been circulating online. Carlos Alcaraz premiered with a buzz cut after a mishap occurred when his brother was cutting his hair. Naomi Osaka took control of the recent Labubu trend, taking a bedazzled doll to each game, naming them after famous tennis players, including Billie Jean Bling (Billie Jean King), Arthur Flashe (Arthur Ashe), and Andre Swagassi (Andre Agassi). Even more interesting, the two finalists of the US Open, Alcaraz and Sinner, were reportedly dating the same person, unknowingly, for the entirety of the tournament.
The tournament was full of incredible plays, matches, and moments, marking the fourth and final tennis major of the 2025 tennis season. The next major, the Australian Open, will be taking place from January 12 to February 1, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia.
