When is the US Open draw? Details confirmed including seeds, wildcards and withdrawals

The countdown is underway for the season’s final Grand Slam, as New York prepares to welcome the world’s tennis elite for the 2025 US Open. Flushing Meadows will once again take centre stage at the end of August, with the sport’s biggest names and most compelling storylines converging under the lights of Arthur Ashe.

The men’s and women’s singles draws will be revealed on Thursday, August 21, with no official time set, but it does typically begin around 5 pm BST, with fans able to follow the ceremony live via the US Open’s official website. For the first time, the draw will follow directly after the revamped mixed doubles event, which has already added a fresh dimension to the build-up.

Both the ATP and WTA sides are set for fascinating year-end tournaments since Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka return as defending champions, both seeking to extend their dominance after winning their maiden US Open titles last year. Sinner dethroned American favourite Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the 2024 final, while Sabalenka denied Jessica Pegula her dream home triumph with a 7-5 7-5 victory.

This year, both US Open champions are the top seeds in their draws. Although Jannik Sinner is the number 1 seed, there are doubts about whether he will be able to play after retiring in the Cincinnati Open final due to illness. Following the Italian, Carlos Alcaraz will fancy his chances at snatching the title as the number 2 seed, especially with his positive North American swing, where he won the Cincinnati Open.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka will be motivated to defend her title, seeing as she has made the semifinals or better at all the Grand Slams this year, but has not added to her three hard-court titles in 2025. Oddly, Iga Swiatek has the confidence on her side, being the Wimbledon and Cincinnati Open champion, looking to stop the Belarusian in the final as the number 3 seed. Despite the Pole overtaking Coco Gauff last week for world number 2 in the WTA rankings, the American will still hold onto that second seed due to the tournament using standings from the week before.

One of the most talked-about storylines will be the return of Venus Williams, who at 45 will contest her 24th US Open after receiving a wildcard. The seven-time Grand Slam champion remains one of the sport’s most enduring icons, her presence a poignant blend of nostalgia, inspiration, and an electrifying audience at her home Slam. The rest of the women's wildcards are the following: Talia Gibson, Valarie Glozman, Clervie Ngounoue, and Julileta Pareja.

Other wildcards that will be joining the legend on the women's side are Caroline Garcia, Caty McNally, and 18-year-old American prodigy Alyssa Ahn. Looking at the men's side, wildcard recipients include American prospects like Nishesh Basavareddy, the Ben Shelton lookalike Darwin Blanch, and Emilio Nava, who all earn places in the main draw. The remainder of the wildcards are: Tristan Boyer, Stefan Dostanic, Valentin Royer, Tristan Schoolkate, and Eliot Spizzirri.

Several notable names will also be absent as the women’s field has lost Qinwen Zheng, Paula Badosa, and Ons Jabeur to injury, while the men’s event will miss Arthur Fils, Grigor Dimitrov, Matteo Berrettini, and Hubert Hurkacz. Dimitrov, who retired injured against Sinner at Wimbledon, has not recovered in time.

Meanwhile, protected rankings are bringing back big names, with Petra Kvitova set to play her final tournament and Nick Kyrgios making a long-awaited return to Grand Slam action. All in all, with defending champions under pressure, teenage prodigies on the rise, and legends returning to the spotlight, the 2025 US Open promises to deliver yet another enthralling chapter in tennis’s most unpredictable major.