ATP Tour

What are the top 10 takeaways from the US Open?

A memorable two weeks of action have concluded in New York, with Alexander Zverev crowned champion for the first time at the US Open.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 takeaways from the final major of the year.

1) Zverev finishes with two majors in 2026: Alexander Zverev’s stellar 2026 season reached new heights Sunday in New York, where the German clinched his second major crown, three months after winning his long-awaited first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June. The 29-year-old is now just the fourth man in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season. Zverev was two points from defeat in his opening match at the hard-court major but will leave New York with the trophy.

2) Shelton reaches first major final: Ben Shelton added to his memorable summer by reaching his first major final in New York, a month after successfully defending his crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada. The American was aiming to become the first man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a Grand Slam title. Despite defeat in his first major final, the 23-year-old, who upset defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals — in a match that ended at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish for a match at the hard-court major — has risen to a new career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

3) Alcaraz returns to action: After being sidelined with a wrist injury since April, Carlos Alcaraz returned to action at the US Open. The Spaniard began his tournament in New York by teaming up with Serena Williams in mixed doubles, where they fell in the quarter-finals, before kick-starting his singles campaign. Alcaraz reached the last eight after dropping only one set before falling to eventual finalist Shelton. The 23-year-old was aiming to become the first man since Roger Federer, who won five consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008, to successfully defend his New York crown.

4) Tiafoe brings out his New York best: Frances Tiafoe reached his third US Open semi-final in New York, having also reached that stage in 2022 and 2024. Before falling to Shelton in the last four, the American rallied from two sets to none and a break down to defeat countryman Alex Michelsen in the quarter-finals and earned the moment of the tournament when he consoled a heartbroken Michelsen following their five-set battle.

5) Navone delivers Djokovic shock on Day 1: Mariano Navone produced perhaps one of the biggest shocks of the tournament on the opening day when he defeated a physically struggling Novak Djokovic in the first round. Djokovic had not fallen in the first round of a major since the 2006 Australian Open, but Navone held firm to earn the biggest win of his career. The Argentine then beat former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini in the second round before falling to countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round.

6) Wawrinka, Monfils say goodbye to New York: Former champion Stan Wawrinka and former semi-finalist Gael Monfils, who are both set to retire at the end of the season, played their final Grand Slam and US Open matches. Wawrinka, who lifted the trophy in Flushing Meadows in 2016, fell to Berrettini in the first round. Monfils won his first-round match against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo before falling to Learner Tien in the second round.

7) Khachanov returns to last four: Karen Khachanov competed at this year’s US Open unseeded at a major for the first time since Wimbledon 2018 and returned to the last four in New York for the first time since 2022. The 30-year-old upset third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round and Learner Tien in the fourth round before reaching the semi-finals once again. Khachanov started the fortnight as World No. 50 but, as a result of his run to the last four, is now up to World No. 26.

8) Harrison/Skupski win doubles crown without dropping set: Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski, who won the Australian Open in January, added to their first season together as a team at the US Open, where they clinched the doubles crown. The American-British duo won the title without dropping a set to become the third men’s team in the Open Era to do so, after Peter Fleming and John McEnroe in 1983 and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2008 and 2010.

9) Ram plays final match of career: Former doubles World No. 1 Rajeev Ram played the final match of his career at the US Open, where he partnered with Joe Salisbury and the pair fell to Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the semi-finals. Ram clinched the US Open trophy three times with Salisbury, with the pair winning in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Following the match, USTA CEO Craig Tiley, Ram's college coach at the University of Illinois, and US Open Tournament Director Eric Butorac, Ram's former doubles partner, paid tribute to the American’s career with an emotional ceremony.

10) Connors hands Zverev trophy: Fifty years after winning his second of five US Open titles, ATP No. 1 Club member Jimmy Connors was back in New York. The American, who triumphed in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982 and 1983, was in attendance for Sunday’s final between Zverev and Shelton and handed the trophy to the German.