Carlos Alcaraz will launch the defence of his US Open crown against an opponent who enjoyed a strong run at Wimbledon while the Spaniard was sidelined with an injury.
Alcaraz, seeded second, begins his campaign against Russia’s Roman Safiullin. It marks the two-time US Open champion’s first competitive singles appearance since April, following a right wrist injury that forced him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
The Spaniard featured alongside Serena Williams in the mixed doubles event upon his return, looking short of match sharpness. He may require a sharper performance against Safiullin, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon by defeating Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca before being eliminated in four sets by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Safiullin also previously defeated Alcaraz — who was ranked world No 2 at the time — at the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 in Paris. Alcaraz subsequently evened their head-to-head record at the Paris Olympics the following year in their only other encounter.
Alongside several compelling opening-round fixtures, Thursday’s singles draw produced an intriguing near-miss, with a potential all-Williams family encounter missing out by the narrowest of margins.
When 46-year-old Venus Williams received a wild card, the US Tennis Association initially reserved one entry spot, which was expected to be allocated to Serena Williams should the six-time US Open champion decide to play singles for the first time since 2022. However, after the 44-year-old chose to focus exclusively on doubles, the USTA handed the final wild card over the weekend to American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.
On Thursday, Venus Williams and Kenin were randomly drawn to face each other in the first round.
Main draw action at the season’s final Grand Slam tournament gets underway on Sunday.
French Open champion Alexander Zverev, who takes the top seed spot in New York following Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal due to a knee injury, starts against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
Two-time defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka opens her campaign against Camila Osorio. Top seed Sabalenka, who has struggled during the North American hard-court swing, is on a potential quarter-final collision course with Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, the sixth seed.
The remaining prospective women’s quarter-finals feature No 2 seed Elena Rybakina against No 8 seed Iga Swiatek, No 3 seed Jessica Pegula against No 7 seed Karolina Muchova, and No 4 seed Coco Gauff against No 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Pegula, who begins against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, is scheduled to meet the winner of the tie between Williams and Kenin in the second round.
In the men’s draw, potential quarter-final matchups could see No 1 Zverev take on No 6 Alex de Minaur, No 2 Alcaraz face No 8 Ben Shelton, No 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime play No 5 Flavio Cobolli, and No 4 Djokovic contest a tie against No 7 Daniil Medvedev.
Tenth seed Arthur Fils, fresh from securing the Cincinnati Open title, meets former world No 3 and two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round. Elsewhere, 2016 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka, competing in his final Grand Slam after receiving a wild card prior to retirement, faces 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini to open a second consecutive major tournament. Berrettini won their previous meeting at the All England Club in four sets, all decided by tiebreakers.
Twenty-third seed Rublev faces 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic. Meanwhile, 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, a quarter-finalist in New York last year, starts against Britain’s Arthur Fery, who was defeated by Zverev in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
A selection of first-round matches will not be finalised until the conclusion of the qualifying tournaments, which were scheduled to wrap up on Thursday. Potential contenders including 11th seed Marta Kostyuk and 17th seed Alex Eala were among those waiting to discover their opening opponents.
