Who are the early favourites for next month’s US Open?

This year’s US Open runs from 26 August to 8 September and will feature 128 players each in the men’s and women’s draws. Last year’s winners, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, will be hoping to fight off what is sure to be a packed field.

Unsurprisingly, last year’s winners, who also happen to be current world number 1s, Sinner and Sabalenka, are the early favourites to win this year’s titles. Prices, available from the FIRST.com list of UK bookies, are currently 11/10 and 5/2 respectively, but we can expect some upsets along the way. Below, we look at the early favourites and try to assess their chances of picking up the trophy at Flushing Meadows.

Jannik Sinner is the reigning US Open champion. He ranks number 1 in the world and emerged victorious at Wimbledon at the beginning of July. And while he is excellent on all surfaces, the Italian especially excels on hard courts, making it very difficult to bet against the 11/10 favourite.

On the other hand, Sinner was fortunate to be in the Wimbledon final, trailing two sets to love, to Grigor Dimitrov, in the fourth round, only for the Bulgarian to withdraw injured. And, he did suffer a hip injury earlier this year.

According to bookmakers, there’s really only one contender likely to run Sinner close, and that is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz has won five slams to Sinner’s 4, and he will likely head to Flushing Meadows with a renewed sense of purpose after losing Wimbledon, which he had won the two previous years.

He has beaten Sinner on hard courts and is the only player to have done so more than once in the past couple of years. Even so, he will have his work cut out if he wants to beat Sinner, and has been given odds of 2/1 to do so.

Sinner and Alcaraz represent the “new two” in tennis, having taken over from the “big four” – the only one of whom that is still playing being Novak Djokovic. Djokovic has finally started to show signs of ageing, especially during his loss to Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Although it isn’t impossible that the Serb could potentially bow out on a high, he has been given odds of 14/1 to do so.

Slightly behind Djokovic in the odds is Brit Jack Draper, at 16/1. Draper has excelled in the past year, showing his best form. He also reached the last four years, showing he has the hard court nouse to carry him through. He will need to hit top form and hope for some luck along the way, however.

US hopes will likely be hanging on Taylor Fritz, priced at 25/1. Fritz made it to the final last year, losing to Sinner, and he will enjoy massive home support at the event. 22-year-old Ben Shelton has roughly similar odds and will be another to receive the love of the crowd.

In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka is the favourite to take victory at 5/2. She won the Spanish Open, beating Coco Gauff in the final, and has also collected the Miami Open and a tournament in Brisbane at the start of the year. However, she lost in the Australian Open final to Madison Keys, while also losing to Coco Gauff in the French Open. At Wimbledon, she lost her semi-final match against Amanda Anisimova, so there are plenty of question marks.

The second favourite for the event, Iga Swiatek at 7/2, will likely be popular with bettors. Swiatek won a crushing 6-0, 6-0 final at Wimbledon, beating Anasimova, and she has form winning the US Open, too, having won the event in 2022, so she knows she has the capability of lifting the trophy. She is currently the world number three behind Sabalenka and American Coco Gauff.

Coco Gauff is another who will attract a lot of attention, from tennis fans, bettors, and definitely from the crowd. American Gauff loves playing at the US Open almost as much as the fans love cheering her on. She won the event in 2023, but she can struggle when up against some of the other top women’s players. She has been given odds of 13/2 to emerge victorious this year.

Mirra Andreeva is only 18 years old, but she is already considered one of the best players in the women’s game. Although she has yet to win a Grand Slam event, she currently sits as the world number five and reached the 2024 French Open semifinals when she was just 17. She also has an Olympic silver medal and could prove good value at odds of 10/1.

As well as Coco Gauff, the crowd will be behind home players Jessica Pegula, priced at 20/1, and they will be hoping youngster Anisimova can put the embarrassment of her Wimbledon final whitewash behind her to fulfil the potential she clearly has – the 23-year-old is 15/1 to lift the trophy.