Washington

Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will lead the field at the US Open, the final Grand Slam event of the year, starting Monday, August 26. Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are the favorites in the men’s and women’s draws, respectively. The tournament runs until September 8.

Gauff enters the competition with mixed results, having gone 3-4 in her last seven matches and struggling in the Paris Olympics, where she was knocked out by silver medalist Donna Vekic in the third round. Last year, Gauff excelled, winning titles in Washington and Cincinnati before clinching the US Open. She will start her campaign against Varvara Gracheva of France and might face Elina Svitolina in the third round.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is aiming for a historic 25th Grand Slam title. He recently won the Paris Olympic gold medal, defeating Carlos Alcaraz, whom he lost to in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.

Sinner, who tested positive for clostebol in March but was found not at fault, won his first major title at the Australian Open and just secured the Cincinnati Open title. He will face Mackenzie McDonald in his opening match. Djokovic and Sinner are positioned on opposite sides of the men’s draw, with Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev also in the mix. Swiatek’s draw includes 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, while Gauff’s path could lead to a potential match against Aryna Sabalenka, the Cincinnati Open champion. Zheng Qinwen, the Olympic silver medalist, is the seventh seed and might face Sabalenka in the quarter-finals, a rematch of their Australian Open final.