Sabalenka Returns to US Open Amid Slump: Defending Champion Searches for Answers at Flushing Meadows
Aryna Sabalenka walks into the 2026 US Open as the defending champion — and as a player trying to find her game.
The main draw at Flushing Meadows begins on 30 August, with the singles final scheduled for 13 September (Olympics.com). Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz are the reigning singles champions (USOpen.org). But while Alcaraz arrives as the men's top seed, Sabalenka's hard-court season has been anything but smooth.
The 28-year-old from Minsk owns four Grand Slam singles titles — two at the Australian Open and two at the US Open, all on hard courts (BBC Sport). She has also lost four Grand Slam finals and six semi-finals. The gap between her best and her recent weeks is what makes this US Open build-up so uneasy.
At the Cincinnati Open, Sabalenka led 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek 5-1 in the first-set tie-break — the shootout used when a set reaches 6-6 — and 4-1 in the second set. She lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-4. A week earlier in Toronto, her serve collapsed in a last-16 defeat to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 19th in the world.
The pattern runs deeper than the summer. During the clay-court season, Sabalenka won the opening set against Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, Sorana Cirstea in Rome and Diana Shnaider at Roland Garros — and lost all three matches. Three different opponents, three different tournaments, the same collapse.
Sabalenka has spoken openly about the struggle. In New York, she said she works on the mental side of her game and is trying to reset her mind and come back stronger, adding that it is "only a matter of time" before she does (BBC Sport). Whether that turnaround begins on Arthur Ashe Stadium this fortnight is the question hanging over her title defence.
Away from the singles draw, the 2026 US Open carries plenty of other storylines. The singles draws were made on 27 August, placing Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Linda Noskova in the top half of the women's bracket. On the men's side, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are the top two seeds, while Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic landed in the same half — meaning a semi-final clash between two of the sport's biggest names is live (Yahoo Sports).
The mixed doubles draw has its own headlines. Sabalenka and Djokovic earned the top seeding, while Serena Williams and Alcaraz were placed in the top half (USOpen.org). Serena and Venus Williams also received a doubles wild card, reuniting on the Flushing Meadows stage.
Prize money has climbed to $108 million — a 20 per cent rise on 2025 (ATP Tour). The winning mixed doubles team takes home $1 million.
For Sabalenka, though, the number that matters most is this: four Grand Slam titles, and a game that has gone missing at the worst possible moment. The US Open hard courts are where she has always played her best tennis. She has two weeks to prove they still bring out her best.
