WHEN THE MOMENT BELONGS TO THOSE WHO CAN TAKE IT Every Grand Slam has its own relationship with the city that hosts it. Melbourne is the beginning of the tennis year. Roland-Garros brings the French to the clay, with all the particularities of Paris. Wimbledon belongs to the English summer, strawberries and cream, and traditions that have outlasted generations of champions. The US Open is New York. Louder, later, less restrained. Arthur Ashe Stadium has something of the Roman coliseum about it: the scale, the noise, the crowd’s appetite for a contest. The spectators are not there to sit quietly and observe. They are part of the match, and the players know it. The approach to the grounds tells you much about the tournament. Some arrive by car, through private entrances and hospitality suites. Others come up from the packed No. 7 trains at Mets–Willets Point, walking the familiar wooden boardwalk towards the tennis. Different worlds, the same anticipation. At Flushing Meadows, the noise is never entirely the noise of tennis. Planes cross overhead from the surrounding airports. The crowd erupts, falls silent, turns on a player and then takes him back into its favor. Night matches can run well beyond midnight. Nobody seems particularly surprised when a match becomes a test of endurance for the spectators as well as the players. This year, one of the defining matches finished at 3:33 in the morning. A first-time finalist went on to face the French Open champion in the men’s final. In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina arrived having secured the points needed to take the world No. 1 ranking, with the US Open title still to be won.
ALCARAZ’S RETURN The defending champion Carlos Alcaraz had returned to competition after months away with a right-wrist injury - missing the French Open and Wimbledon. He made history winning the Australian Open earlier this year and becoming the youngest man to capture a career Grand Slam by earning the Australian Open 2026 men’s singles championship. The world No.1 overcame 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 Jannik Sinner was now out due to injuries and NY was excited to watch the talented Champion return to center stadium. The Spaniard equally loved the NY crowd and brought back the tennis which takes top billing next to Sinner. His powerful groundstrokes from the baseline and elegant “touch” at the net, evokes memories of the versatility and brilliance of Roger Federer. Shelton met him in the quarterfinals in a match that began at 11:05 p.m. and lasted 4 hours and 28 minutes. At 3:33 a.m. on Wednesday, 9 September, Shelton sent down a 146 mph ace to close it out. No match in US Open history had finished later. Shelton lost the first-set tiebreak, then won nine consecutive games. Alcaraz answered with a 6–1 fourth set. The deciding set went to a 10-point tiebreak, where Shelton prevailed 10–7. Final score was 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7). Alcaraz had looked capable of defending his title. His return after the wrist injury had brought him back to the sport’s highest level, and Shelton had to find a way through a match that repeatedly threatened to escape him. The win ended Alcaraz’s 18-match Grand Slam winning streak and Shelton’s own losing run against top-three opponents.
ARTHUR ASHE'S LEGACY There was more to come for Ben Shelton. The semifinals brought an historical showdown in Arthur Ashe stadium. Frances Tiafoe, whose rise to the top of men's tennis was almost storybook and a testament to family, commitment and discipline walking hand in hand with sheer talent and grit. Tiafoe had already produced a five-set comeback against Alex Michelsen in the quarterfinals, making the all-American match another of the tournament’s memorable contests. Shelton beat Tiafoe 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–5 Shelton is the first Black man to reach the US Open final since the 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe stadium’s namesake in 1972. And he is hoping to become the first Black man to take the title since Ashe won in the beginning of the Open Era in 1968. “Without Arthur Ashe, my dad probably would have never been playing tennis or had the opportunities that he had to go so far in this sport. This sport has given my family a lot,” said Shelton, whose father and coach, Bryan, reached a career-high No. 52 in 1994. He had beaten the defending champion Alcaraz in a match that had become part of US Open history, then earned his place past one of America’s most accomplished players. Although he could not finish the job against Zverev, this was the strongest tournament of his career to date. The Alcaraz match, in particular, will remain the performance by which this run is remembered.
SUPER SUNDAY The New York crowd had witnessed yet another spectacular two weeks of the best tennis in the world. The energy of NY never failed and on this Sunday, the New York fans were clear, loud and present. The Men’s Finals figures tell part of the story. Shelton had the power to disrupt Zverev, and he took the third set by breaking a run of 66 consecutive service holds in their rivalry. Zverev’s mental game held strong. In the fourth set, he held serve and gave Shelton little room to build another comeback. He finished the final fittingly with an unreturned serve. The final score was 6–3, 7–6(2), 5–7, 6–2. Zverev’s second major title of the year was built around his first serve. He won 85 per cent of the points on serve, compared with Shelton’s 71 per cent. Shelton delivered ten aces to Zverev’s nine and won more points on his second serve, but Zverev converted four of his six break points. Shelton converted just one of three. For Zverev, the victory followed his first major title at Roland-Garros and confirmed a season in which he had finally converted years of promise into Grand Slam success. For Shelton, the final was the end of a remarkable fortnight. He had made his way through the draw with the force of his serve and ability to hold his nerve when matches turned against him. Reminding the crowd that tennis was not just pure talent and force, but requires the mental strength and mind to fight past every tie-break and even match point. New York's energy and what the players bring to the tournament will always be the perfect close to summer and the year's grand slams.
RYBAKINA AND SABALENKA: POWER IN TWO FORMS The Women’s Final on Super Saturday showcased the strength and power of today’s tennis in the Women’s draw. Elena Rybakina’s ranking was settled before the women’s final began. Her results had secured the points needed to take her to world No. 1 when the rankings were updated on Monday, regardless of the result against Aryna Sabalenka. The title was another matter. Sabalenka was the two-time defending champion, seeking a third consecutive US Open crown. When Aryna Sabalenka is in the zone, her tennis is almost incomparable. She can operate at a level few players in the game today can reach, let alone sustain: immense power, relentless aggression and the ability to overwhelm even the most accomplished opponents. When all is in place, Sabalenka seems to play in a league of her own. Yet the margin between that dominance and defeat can be found nowhere better than in the sport of tennis. It is the difference that can define a champion on any given day. This Final Saturday, Sabalenka was not on. There was little left to blame beyond her own execution. The weapons were there; the question was whether she could command them under pressure. No blame. The match spoke for itself. Rybakina is the antithesis on the court and off. Her style of play is absolute stealth. Precision delivery: you blink and the shots just pass by. She delivers each shot with a quiet power that does not strain, overreach or announce her intentions. Rybakina’s shots are almost effortless, yet extraordinarily difficult to execute. Her power is not diminished by her composure; it is concealed by it. Stealth.
RYBAKINA TAKES THE NO. 1 SPOT The match ended 6–4, 5–7, 6–2. The stats spoke. Rybakina delivered 12 aces to Sabalenka’s 6, produced 36 winners against 32 and made 24 unforced errors to Sabalenka’s 35. Rybakina landed only 47 per cent of her first serves, yet won 85 per cent of the points when she did. Sabalenka won the second set 7–5, finding the aggression that had carried her through so much of the tournament. In the third set, Rybakina took control again. The match turned on patience as much as power. Sabalenka pressed, looking for the decisive shot. Rybakina kept the ball in play and waited for the opening. She converted 3 of 12 break points; Sabalenka converted 1 in 3. At match point, Rybakina finished with finality of serving an ace. It was her first US Open title, her third Grand Slam championship and her second major of 2026, following her Australian Open victory over Sabalenka. She denied Sabalenka the three-peat and ended her 19-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows. The ranking was already hers to claim; the trophy made the achievement complete.
NEW YORK NIGHT SESSIONS, AFTER MIDNIGHT There are matches that settle a title and matches that stay with a tournament long after the final score has been recorded. Shelton’s win over Alcaraz was one of the latter. The 4 hours 38 minutes, the five sets, the defending champion Alcaraz on the other side of the net and the ace that ended it at 3:33 a.m. made it more than a quarterfinal. It was a career-defining performance for Shelton, even without the trophy at the end of the week. Zverev took the title with the composure of a player who had already crossed the threshold at Roland-Garros. Rybakina won hers in a different pace, allowing the tennis to do the talking while Sabalenka struggled to find the consistency her power demands. And New York stayed for all of it. The trains, the planes, the crowd that refuses to leave while a match still has something to give: this is the US Open, where night tennis can become part of the story and the moment belongs to the player who can take it.