Gauff, Rybakina, Zverev Lead Exciting Day 3 at US Open

The US Open is only three days old, and already the draw is fraying at the edges. Upsets in the men’s singles have ripped away some of the safety net for the seeds, and Day 3 in New York arrives with a distinctly nervous energy.

On a late-summer Wednesday in Queens, the spotlight tightens on Coco Gauff under the Arthur Ashe lights, Elena Rybakina’s power on the outer courts, and Alexander Zverev’s push to justify his new status at the top of the men’s field. The calendar says it’s still early. The schedule says otherwise.

Gauff, Rybakina, Zverev headline a loaded Day 3

The women’s slate offers a neat blend of star power and intrigue.

Coco Gauff closes the evening session at 7 p.m. ET against Zeynep Sonmez, a match that will test how comfortably the American can carry the burden of expectation in front of a home crowd that now sees her as a genuine title threat, not just a promising teenager.

Before that, Elena Rybakina faces Thea Frodin at 11 a.m. ET, a classic early-round assignment for a top seed: handle business, conserve energy, send a message. Aryna Sabalenka leads the women’s rankings here, but Rybakina, seeded second, knows this hard court rewards her clean, flat power as much as anyone.

Madison Keys, a former US Open finalist and perennial danger in New York, steps in at 11:30 a.m. ET against Alina Korneeva, a matchup that pits experience and raw hitting against youthful ambition. Daria Kasatkina meets Paula Badosa at 1:10 p.m. ET, a stylistic contrast that could quietly become one of the day’s most tactical battles.

From the morning, the women’s draw rolls relentlessly:

• 11 a.m. ET: Maria Sakkari vs. Robin Montgomery; Yuliia Starodubtseva vs. Ella Seidel; Thea Frodin vs. Elena Rybakina; Yulia Putintseva vs. Belinda Bencic; Gabriela Andrea Knutson vs. Eva Lys
• 12:40 p.m. ET: Mirra Andreeva vs. Janice Tjen
• 12:45 p.m. ET: Darja Vidmanova vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
• 1:10 p.m. ET: Lucie Havlickova vs. Anna Bondar; Daria Kasatkina vs. Paula Badosa
• 1:40 p.m. ET: Tatjana Maria vs. Jelena Ostapenko
• 1:50 p.m. ET: Kaitlin Quevedo vs. Elise Mertens
• 1:55 p.m. ET: Arantxa Rus vs. Leolia Jeanjean
• 2:50 p.m. ET: Iva Jovic vs. Magdalena Frech
• 3:20 p.m. ET: Nikola Bartunkova vs. Mayar Sherif
• 3:30 p.m. ET: Oleksandra Oliynykova vs. Reese Brantmeier
• 4 p.m. ET: Magda Linette vs. Francesca Jones
• 8:40 p.m. ET: Mary Stoiana vs. Alexandra Eala

Anastasia Potapova vs. Terez Valentova has been cancelled, trimming one contest from an otherwise packed women’s schedule.

On the men’s side, the narrative sharpens. With Jannik Sinner ruled out injured, Alexander Zverev arrives as the No. 1 seed and one of the central figures of this tournament. He opens his campaign at 8:10 p.m. ET against Lorenzo Sonego, a dangerous first-round opponent with enough firepower to test any rust or nerves.

Taylor Fritz, the American No. 1 and seeded third behind Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, takes on Darwin Blanch at 12:50 p.m. ET. For Fritz, these are the days that must look routine if he is to make a serious run deep into the second week.

The men’s singles schedule starts early and barely pauses:

• 11 a.m. ET: Francisco Comesana vs. Flavio Cobolli; Mattia Bellucci vs. Zsombor Piros; Dane Sweeny vs. Corentin Moutet; Nishesh Basavareddy vs. Tristian Schoolkate; Filip Misolic vs. Francisco Cerundolo
• 12:10 p.m. ET: Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
• 1:10 p.m. ET: Arthur Fery vs. Lorenzo Musetti
• 12:50 p.m. ET: Taylor Fritz vs. Darwin Blanch
• 1:30 p.m. ET: Zizou Bergs vs. Carlos Taberner
• 1:40 p.m. ET: Jesper de Jong vs. Francesco Passaro
• 2:20 p.m. ET: Rafael Jodar vs. Yunchaokete Bu; Juan Manuel Cerúndolo vs. Arthur Gea
• 2:50 p.m. ET: Fabian Marozsan vs. Michael Zheng; Zachary Svajda vs. Daniel Altmaier; Alex Molcan vs. Benjamin Bonzi
• 3 p.m. ET: Jan Choinski vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
• 4:30 p.m. ET: Marcos Giron vs. Ignacio Buse
• 5 p.m. ET: Andrea Guerrieri vs. Alex de Minaur
• 7 p.m. ET: Adolfo Daniel Vallejos Álvarez vs. Gael Monfils
• 8:10 p.m. ET: Alexander Zverev vs. Lorenzo Sonego

Monfils under the lights, Zverev closing the night, Fritz in the afternoon: Day 3 feels like a tone-setter for the men’s event.

A Grand Slam with history and a new hierarchy

The US Open, first staged in 1881, stands as the second-oldest Grand Slam, behind only Wimbledon. Its hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens are unforgiving, the bounce true, the pace brisk. This is where big hitters often thrive and where stamina and nerve get exposed in the late August heat.

The 2026 edition stretches over three weeks, from Sunday, August 23 to Sunday, September 13. The structure is familiar but packed:

• Qualifying events: August 24–27
• Men’s and women’s singles main draw: August 30–September 13
• Mixed doubles: August 24–26
• Men’s and women’s doubles: September 3–12
• Junior events: September 3–12
• Wheelchair events: September 8–12

The business end is already circled on every player’s calendar:

• Women’s Doubles Final – Friday, September 11
• Women’s Singles Final and Men’s Doubles Final – Saturday, September 12
• Men’s Singles Final – Sunday, September 13

Seventeen former Grand Slam singles champions are in the field, ten of them past US Open winners. That depth alone guarantees storylines, even before you factor in the reshuffled men’s pecking order.

With Sinner sidelined, Zverev sits at No. 1, Alcaraz at No. 2, and Felix Auger-Aliassime at No. 3. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka leads the seedings, with Rybakina second and Jessica Pegula third. The United States sends 28 players into the main draw, more than any other nation, a group headlined by Pegula, Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Ben Shelton, Fritz, and Venus Williams.

It is a field heavy on power, pedigree, and home hopes. New York has seen this mix before. It rarely stays calm for long.

How to watch: from Queens to your screen

For fans, the path to Flushing Meadows runs through ESPN. The network remains the exclusive broadcast home of the US Open, with select matches also on ABC and the ESPN app. Viewers without cable need a live TV or streaming package that includes these channels.

Options in the US include:

• DirecTV: Base package at $59.99 for the first month, with ABC and ESPN+ included.
• ESPN Unlimited: Live sports and archived ESPN content from $29.99 per month.
• Fubo: Sports plan at $65.99 per month, carrying ABC, ESPN, and ESPN 2, with a quarterly option available.
• Sling: Essentials plan with ESPN and ESPN 2 for $19.99 per month, or a Sling TV Day Pass at $4.99.
• YouTube TV: Sports Plan with ABC, ESPN, and ESPN 2 for $64.99 per month.

Free trials offer another route. New subscribers to DirecTV, FuboTV, or YouTube TV may be able to watch the US Open without an immediate subscription fee.

Outside the cable ecosystem, 9Now will stream the 2026 US Open for free in Australia. Viewers in the US, UK, or other regions who cannot access a domestic free trial may turn to a virtual private network (VPN) to reach that feed. A VPN allows users to connect to a server in another country and unlock geo-restricted content.

The process is straightforward:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN, such as ExpressVPN.
2. Download the VPN app on your chosen device.
3. Connect to a server located in Australia.
4. Visit 9Now and start streaming the US Open.

Most of the best VPN services are paid, but many offer free trials for first-time users, making it possible to watch without paying if the timing lines up.

One final technical note for the home setup: enabling your TV’s motion-smoothing feature can make fast-paced tennis look smoother, though it should be turned off afterward to avoid the “soap opera effect” on films and series.

The stage is set, the draw is loaded, and the broadcast paths are clear. With the seeds already feeling the heat and the New York crowd ready to roar, the real question now is simple: who will still be standing when this three-week grind reaches its final Sunday?