Sinner’s pursuit of triple slam to the big Djokovic question: Storylines to follow at US Open 2025

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New Delhi: The last Grand Slam of the year is here and it has already drawn more eyeballs than ever with the largest prize purse in tennis history and debate swirling over a revamped mixed doubles format. The buzz around Flushing Meadows feels bigger than usual and the anticipation only grows as the sport’s top stars prepare for one final push in 2025.

With qualifying wrapped up and the main draw set to begin on Sunday, the stage is ready for two weeks of high drama in New York. The world’s best arrive chasing more than just a trophy but before they get into action, let’s take a look at the storylines to follow at this year’s US Open

Can an American man finally lift the trophy?

For two decades, American men have been chasing a Grand Slam singles title without success. The drought stretches back to Andy Roddick’s US Open triumph in 2003 and while there have been flashes of hope, no one has managed to carry it through. Now, Taylor Fritz finds himself leading a generation that looks closer than ever to breaking the spell.

Fritz has been steadily climbing toward the breakthrough moment. Last year, he became the first American man in 15 years to reach a Grand Slam final, falling to Jannik Sinner in New York. Since then, he has pushed himself further and reached a career-high ranking of N0.4 and putting himself consistently in the mix at the latter stage of the majors. In the past 12 months alone, he has contested the ATP Finals and a Wimbledon semifinal, both times running into the formidable young duo of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Fritz has all the tools to trouble anyone on a hard court with a booming serve, heavy forehand and improving return game. The question is whether he can take that final step in an era dominated by two players who seem a step ahead of the rest of the field. With fellow Americans like Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul adding depth to the charge, the hope is real. But if the breakthrough does come this year in New York, the weight of expectation will rest most squarely on Fritz’s shoulders.

Does Djokovic have a chance to win 25th Slam?

Serbian Novak Djokovic’s chase for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title feels like the last mountain left in his career. He has already ticked off almost everything else, from being the most weeks at No.1, Olympic gold, Davis Cup glory, to winning records against Federer and Nadal. Though every now and then he has shown that age is just a number but we can’t deny the fact that he is 38 and his window is closing fast.

After Roland Garros, he admitted that he might never return, and at Wimbledon, he spoke more about enjoying Centre Court than about winning. This season, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has shown the same pattern rising for the majors, reaching the semifinals at all three majors in 2025, but by the last weekend, he has run out of gas against the young rivals. In Melbourne and at Wimbledon, his body simply couldn’t hold up deep into the tournament.

Still, US Open might give a ray of hope as his quarterfinal path is set to run through Taylor Fritz, a player he has beaten 10 times. More importantly, he doesn’t have Sinner in his draw, who knocked him out in both Paris and London. Should he make it to the semis, Carlos Alcaraz could be waiting, but he has already beaten the Spaniard in Australia earlier this year.

But before that he has to overcome other hurdles as he opens his campaign against talented American teenager Learner Tien with potential meetings against Alex Michelsen, Frances Tiafoe or Holger Rune and Jakub Mensik along the way. None of them are easy but if someone else removes Sinner or Alcaraz from the equation, Djokovic’s shot at No.25 looks as alive as it’s going to get.

Can Sabalenka defend her title?

The World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka arrives in New York with the resume of a world-beater and the weight of expectation that comes with being the defending champion. Over the past year she has been one of the most consistent performers on tour, reaching the finals at both the Australian Open and French Open, making the last four at Wimbledon and adding trophies in Miami and Madrid. She also produced runner-up finishes in Indian Wells and Stuttgart, a run of results that has kept her atop the Race to the WTA Finals.

This season, her Grand Slam record underscores her reliability with a 17-3 mark across the first three majors. She has outperformed nearly everyone on tour, trailing only Iga Swiatek in terms of overall wins. The sheer firepower of her game has been on display, too, racking up more than 570 winners across those events.

On hard court, her record is formidable, having won three out of the last five majors and a career-best 28-6 record at the US Open, the highest winning percentage among active players.

Yet question remains that many of her victories this season have required tiebreaks after surrendering service games, a reminder that even her biggest weapon can falter under pressure. With Swiatek closing in at No. 1, the margin for error has never been thinner. Sabalenka knows she has already put together an exceptional year but defending her crown in New York would not only cement her status as the sport’s dominant force, rather it would also silence any lingering doubt about her ability to back up a breakthrough on the biggest stage.

Sinner’s pursuit of rare triple Slam season

The season so far has been spectacular for the World No. 1. He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, lost an epic Roland Garros final, and now the US Open offers the defending champion a chance to step into even rarer company.

The bitter defeat to Alcaraz in Paris, where he let three championship points slip, will drive him as he looks to become only the seventh man in the Open Era to win three majors in a single season.

Not just that with victory at US Open, he could also become the fourth man to win three Slams in a season and reach the final of the fourth, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rod Laver. The Italian enters the US Open as defending champion and a proven force on hard courts. Though he retired in the Cincinnati Open final against Alcaraz due to illness, he has confirmed he is fit and ready to compete in New York.

Top singles rankings on the line in NYC

Another interesting storyline to follow is the top spot jeopardy in both men’s and women’s singles rankings. It’s been nearly a year since Sabalenka snatched the No.1 spot from Iga Swiatek, but her grip on the summit is under real pressure in New York. She will begin the US Open with 11,225 points yet 2,000 of those are tied to her title defense. Strip those away and her effective tally sits at 9,225, barely clear of wiatek (7,503) and Coco Gauff (7,634), both within striking distance.

Swiatek arrives with the wild at her back after winning Wimbledon and Cincinnati while Gauff is just 59 points shy of the Pole in the official standings. For Sabalenka the match is clear in order to stay at the No.1 spot she needs to make it to the quarters but anything less opens the door for either Swiatek or Gauff to snatch it by lifting the trophy.

On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz holds the edge in his year-end battle with Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard carries a 1,890-point cushion into Flushing Meadows after Sinner retired early in the Cincinnati final. But the margin isn’t safe. Sinner is the defending champion in New York while Alcaraz fell in the second round last year. A repeat of that swing could turn the race upside down but Alcaraz who is already the youngest to ever finish a season at No. 1 back in 2022, is chasing that honor for a second time but Sinner still has a chance to pull him back into reach if he defends his crown.

Sandwich generation struggling for relevance

For the group of players born in the 1990s each major seems to underline the same harsh reality that their window to truly dominate is closing fast. Alexander Zverev, currently ranked at No.3, has managed to stay somewhat relevant at the top but the same can’t be said for Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Between them, they have managed to collect just two match wins across the majors this season, showcasing a staggering drop-off for players once expected to break the old guard’s stranglehold.

Tsitsipas has been hampered by persistent back problems, openly admitting that the pain has affected his confidence and preparation. Meanwhile, Medvedev has looked flat and short of his trademark edge, unable to impose himself in the biggest matches. Zverev has urged patience, pointing out that injuries and external factors can derail form and he still believes both men will climb back into the top 10. But as things stand, the real threats to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz seem to be coming from the younger wave behind them and not from the so-called “lost generation” that was once tipped to rule the sport.