Félix Auger-Aliassime enters the 2026 US Open seeded third into a men's draw depleted by injury at the top, positioning the Montreal-born Canadian for what observers view as his strongest Grand Slam opportunity in years. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is absent with a knee injury—his first major absence since 2019—while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has not played a competitive match since suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in April, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Why the field is unusually open
The absence of Sinner and the rust on Alcaraz combine with injuries to other contenders to create rare circumstances at a major. Jack Draper has withdrawn, and Holger Rune is sidelined by injury. Top seed Alexander Zverev won Roland Garros this year but has not captured the US Open despite reaching the final, according to Yahoo! Sports. The thinning of the draw at Flushing Meadows does not happen often at the US Open.
What Auger-Aliassime has accomplished this season
The 25-year-old Canadian has reached career-high World No. 4 and successfully defended his 2025 Montpellier title in February, passing Milos Raonic for the most ATP Tour titles by a Canadian man in the Open Era with nine, according to the US Open official site. In Monte Carlo, he became the third player born in the 2000s to reach at least the quarterfinals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, joining Alcaraz and Sinner. At Wimbledon two months ago, Auger-Aliassime pushed seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to a fifth-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals—the longest quarterfinal match ever played at SW19 at five hours and 15 minutes.
His US Open history
Auger-Aliassime has reached the US Open semifinals twice, including last year's run, according to the US Open official site. He also reached the semis in 2021 before losing to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev. His Grand Slam season in 2026 has been solid but marked by near-misses: he retired in his first-round match at the Australian Open, reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros (losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli), and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
The first-round matches are underway at Flushing Meadows.
Sources
- Yahoo! Sports: The 2026 US Open Is Felix Auger-Aliassime's Chance He Has To Take. Published 2026-08-31.
- US Open: Felix Auger-Aliassime feels at home at the 2026 US Open. Published 2026-08-29.
- TSN: Canada's Auger-Aliassime is poised for another deep run at the US Open. Published 2026-08-31.
Reported from public sources.