US Open preview: Can Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic defend their titles? Will Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek rebound from Olympics?

Coco Gauff will return to the US Open for the first time as a defending champion. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

It’s time again for the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the tennis year. The 2023 singles winners, Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic, are both returning at full strength to defend their titles. Will Djokovic smash through the competition again to win his mind-bending 25th major? Will Coco Gauff be able to fend off a feisty women’s field? Read on for a preview of the 2024 US Open.

Notable absencesRafael Nadal isn’t able to give 100%: Spain’s greatest tennis star pulled out of the US Open in early August, saying only that he wouldn’t be able to give the tournament his all. He hasn’t made any decisions on retirement yet, but that’s the inevitable destination as Nadal travels these last steps on his professional tennis journey.

Andy Murray has retired: The beloved player, who never gave up despite injury after injury, retired after a marvelous run at the Paris Olympics with doubles partner Jack Draper. This is the first major tournament without him, and it’s frankly pretty weird. His presence was always a symbol that there were tennis stars outside the Big Three, and he became impossible to root against in the second half of his career when he struggled mightily with injuries. We miss you, Andy.

Key storylinesNovak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz: These two have started building a very entertaining rivalry. They’ve faced off in several finals over the past few years, most recently in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Djokovic was able to win his first-ever Olympic gold medal, the one honor that had eluded him throughout his career, while Alcaraz, playing at his first Olympics, just didn’t have it that day.

When these two get together on the court, you can expect anything from magic to fireworks to even an Alcaraz frown. Even though we’ve seen them play against each other before, this is the match that everyone wants to see: the GOAT vs. the Phenom.

Fallout from Jannik Sinner’s positive tests: The news of Sinner’s two positive tests for Clostebol was pretty shocking, as was the determination that he was not at fault for ingesting the banned substance. Several players have said they don’t think it’s fair that Sinner wasn’t suspended or banned. It will be interesting to see if players mention it over the course of the tournament, and if it ends up affecting Sinner’s play.

Can Coco Gauff defend her title? Gauff won her very first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, and she has continued to improve across the board since then. She made it to the semifinals for the first time at the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year, but that progress was weirdly blunted by her less-than-great performance at the Olympics. The 20-year-old Gauff, who is about to compete at her seventh US Open, doesn’t need redemption, but if she wants it, she’ll find it at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

It could be another wide-open women’s tournament: If the troubles Gauff had in Paris follow her to Queens, we could see another first-time champion. But in the same position is Iga Swiatek, the longtime WTA No. 1, who also crashed out early at the Olympics on her preferred surface. And Swiatek has also won a US Open trophy before. The only consistent thing about Swiatek, Gauff and the other top-ranked women is their lack of consistency, so it truly feels like anyone’s trophy to win.

Men’s top 10 seeds1. Jannik Sinner (Italy)
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
3. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
4. Alexander Zverev (Germany)
5. Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
6. Andrey Rublev (Russia)
7. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
8. Casper Ruud (Norway)
9. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
10. Alex de Minaur (Australia)

There are no U.S. men in the top 10, but there are five sitting just outside it. Taylor Fritz is seeded 12th, Ben Shelton is at 13, Tommy Paul is 14, Sebastian Korda is 16 and Frances Tiafoe is at 20.

Who to watch in the men’s drawJannik Sinner: Not only is Sinner going to be under a microscope from the media and his fellow players after his positive drug tests, he’s coming into this tournament with an injury. He’s been dealing with hip issues since the clay court season and was forced to withdraw from the Olympics. While he’s more rested than the other Olympic competitors (Alcaraz, Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev all played in Paris), that’s meaningless if his hip is impacting his play.

Taylor Fritz: After an excellent performance at the Paris Olympics, it feels like Fritz is on the way up. He briefly broke into the ATP top 10 in January, but has been holding steady at No. 12 ever since and is the top-ranked American man on the ATP. If he’s going to make the leap to solid contender, this is when he should do it. But now is definitely the time, since fellow American Ben Shelton is hot on his heels at No. 12 and is getting better and better every tournament.

Women’s top 10 seeds1. Iga Swiatek (Poland)
2. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
3. Coco Gauff (USA)
4. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
5. Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
6. Jessica Pegula (USA)
7. Qinwen Zheng (China)
8. Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
9. Maria Sakkari (Greece)
10. Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)

In addition to Gauff and Pegula in the top 10, three American women are seeded between 11 and 15: Danielle Collins (11), Emma Navarro (13) and Madison Keys (14).

Who to watch in the women’s drawDanielle Collins: After announcing her intention to retire at the end of the 2024 season, Collins has been on a tear. The US Open will be her last Grand Slam ever, and it’ll be worth watching the 30-year-old American play her heart out on the big stage one last time.

Iga Swiatek: It’s been a tough few months for Iga. She bowed out early at the Olympics and then again just recently at the Cincinnati Open. She’s always found her way out of losing streaks, stopping them before they get too crushing, but she’ll need to get her confidence back if she wants to dominate the competition like everyone knows she can.