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Defending champion Jannik Sinner (1) plays arch rival Carlos Alcaraz (2) in today’s U.S. Open men’s singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
This will be an unprecedented third successive major final between the pair — with Spain’s Alcaraz triumphant at the French Open in June and world No. 1 Sinner getting his revenge at Wimbledon a month later.
Alcaraz also beat Sinner in five sets and more than five hours on Arthur Ashe in the 2022 quarterfinals, on his way to a first Grand Slam and U.S. Open title.
You would forgive Jannik Sinner for not particularly wanting to face Carlos Alcaraz today. The Spaniard has won 9 of their 14 meetings — including this year’s epic French Open final, in which Sinner failed to capitalize on three championship points.
But, speaking earlier this week, Sinner admitted today’s final was what the fans want to see and ultimately good for the sport.
💬 Sinner said: “I love these challenges and I love to put myself in these positions. He’s someone who pushed me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback you can have as a player.
“We have faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different. Always when we step on court, we are aware of maybe more things, because him or me, we try to prepare the match tactically and in different ways.
“Sometimes it's also nice to not play against him. But it's great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us.”
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It’s Carlos Alcaraz’s turn to practice on Arthur Ashe Stadium before the final. Here he is listening to coach Juan Carlos Ferraro, who is asking him to bend lower when hitting his backhand.
Alcaraz is looking for his second U.S. Open title and sixth career slam.
The scene outside Arthur Ashe Stadium with heightened security measures due to President Donald Trump’s appearance during the U.S. Open men’s singles final today.
Quite the intersection of sports fans at Penn Station this morning. Of course, there’s a smattering of U.S. Open fans heading to Billie Jean King National Tennis Center early, knowing that with President Donald Trump attending there will be extra security.
But there are also Jets, Yankees and even a good amount of Steelers fans, too. The NFL fans are hitting New Jersey Transit to go westward to MetLife Stadium, while the Yankees fans are headed north to the Bronx to watch a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Honestly, it could be fun to play sports roulette, picking one of the three spots at random, then all aboard. Which event would you choose?
The United States Tennis Association asked broadcasters of the U.S. Open to censor any protests or reaction to President Donald Trump’s appearance at the men’s singles final, according to a memo reviewed by The Athletic yesterday.
According to the memo, which was first reported by the tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg of Bounces, Trump will be shown on feeds from the tournament during the pre-match ceremony, which includes the presentation of the U.S. national anthem, ahead of the final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
“We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity,” the USTA said in the memo. The memo said Trump planned to watch the match from a suite as a guest of a sponsor, prompting additional security for the event.
“We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” USTA spokesman Brendan McIntyre told The Athletic. ESPN declined official comment.
Read more below.
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USTA asks broadcasters to censor reaction to Donald Trump’s attendance at U.S. Open
As for the men, two of the past three winners feature in today’s final.
Here is how that roll call from the past 10 years looks …
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Jannik Sinner had a practice on Ashe before the men’s singles final earlier on today.
With a win today, Sinner will have three slams in 2025 and would’ve been one point away from a calendar slam. He will tie Carlos Alcaraz with five career slam titles.
We love this assessment of yesterday’s women’s singles winner Aryna Sabalenka from our friends at the Tennis Podcast!
And you can hear all the analysis about Sabalenka’s fitting finale to 2025 from David, Matt and Catherine on the link below.
Here is where yesterday’s success sits for Aryna Sabalenka, with the queen of Queens also a master of the hard courts.
Sabalenka is the third player of the Open Era to win her first four Grand Slam titles on the surface — two in New York and two in Melbourne — alongside Naomi Osaka and Kim Clijsters.
As for that last decade of U.S. Open women’s singles winners …
The women’s singles were wrapped up with yesterday’s final on Arthur Ashe — and it was Aryna Sabalenka (1) who left the court with a huge beaming smile, the major silverware and that hefty winners check.
The world No. 1 beat Amanda Anisimova (8) won 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour, 34 minutes under the roof to become the first women to go back to back at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams (2012-14).
American Anisimova at least fared better than in her first major final at Wimbledon in July. She will now rise to No. 4 in the world rankings after another impressive Grand Slam run.
A hefty prize awaits whoever emerges victorious from the men’s singles bracket today.
The champion will earn $5 million, which roughly translates to £3.7 million according to current conversion rates. Not a bad incentive!
The runner-up has already guaranteed themselves a lucrative prize as well: $2.5 million.
So let’s be honest, there are no real losers in this Grand Slam final.
And for those wondering, the financial incentives were the same figures for the women’s singles final yesterday too.
Speaking of which …
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It’s a rainy morning at Flushing Meadows. Less around three hours until first ball of the U.S. Open men’s singles championship and there’s a line to get into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center via the Turner Gate, near Mets-Willets Point subway station. This includes event staff, bartenders and members of the media.
Walking next to me are members of uniformed secret service. This is in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s appearance during the U.S. Open men’s singles final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Which leaves us with the 2025 major season to wrap up in Flushing Meadows.
For the first time in the Open Era, the same two men’s players meet for a third Grand Slam final in the same season.
Not only that, but this will be the third successive time they have lined up in a Grand Slam final.
Will Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner end level on slam titles for 2025 or will Sinner come away with three wins to Alcaraz’s one?
Everywhere you look points to another epic in today’s U.S. Open men’s singles final.
The summer continued with another classic two weeks of action at the hallowed grounds in SW19.
Guess what? Yes! Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz met again in the men’s singles final, and this time the Italian got his revenge against the defending champion.
Not only that. It also took just four sets and three hours, four minutes.
On the women’s singles side, Amanda Anisimova made an inspiring run to the final — including a semifinal upset against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal.
The following 6-0, 6-0 double-bagel defeat for Anisimova to Iga Świątek is likely to live long in the memory for everyone.
The French Open, which started in May and ended in June, saw plenty of thrills and spills on the red clay of Roland Garros.
In the men’s singles, it was the first Grand Slam final meeting between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — and an instant classic for the ages. The five-hour, 29-minute thriller was the longest final in tournament history and saw Alcaraz come through in five epic sets.
Given we’ve got the same final lineup today, you’d better keep the coming hours clear.
In the women’s final, American Coco Gauff won her second major after coming from behind to beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka — a losing finalist again, despite beating three-time defending champion Iga Świątek in the semifinals.
The first major of the calendar year saw Aryna Sabalenka, attempt to become the first woman since Martina Hingis to win three Australian Open titles in a row.
It very nearly happened too, as she dropped just one set on her way to the final. But there she met Madison Keys, who won in three sets to lift the first major of her career.
On the men’s side, top seed Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open title — dropping just two sets in the entire tournament, before sweeping Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the showpiece.
Will Sinner repeat here in New York too? For fans of omens, he has also dropped just two sets on the way to today’s final.
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Hello again to you all and welcome back from Queens. It is great to have you with us.
This is the fourth and final major of the year, and it’s almost over!
So as we wait for today’s men’s singles final in New York, let’s remind you how the other three slams finished …
The most famous of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s three stadiums is Arthur Ashe Stadium, also named after an American tennis great.
It’s the biggest tennis stadium in the world, seating 23,771 at full capacity and has hosted numerous iconic moments through the years.
What will the venerated stadium have in store for us in today’s men’s singles final? We cannot wait to find out.
The iconic complex on the north end of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens is the crown jewel of American tennis venues.
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center contains 22 hard courts, including three stadiums. Those courts are open to the public year-round — except when the U.S. Open is happening.
The venue also sits near several other sports and cultural hubs in Queens, including Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
The center is directly operated by the United States Tennis Association, and it has hosted the U.S. Open every year since opening in 1978.
In 2006, the venue was renamed from the USTA National Tennis Center in order to honor U.S. tennis legend Billie Jean King, who is often among the luminaries on the grounds to watch the action — as has been the case during this year’s championship.