The final tennis major event of the season, the U.S. Open, is just about to begin.
The top tennis players from around the world will travel to New York City to compete for a chance to win the title. New champions are often made in New York, will that happen this year?
Before the action begins Monday, here's everything you need to know when watching the U.S. Open, including the broadcast schedule, reigning champions and betting odds.
Key dates
Monday, Aug. 26: The first round of the U.S. Open begins. Each round will take two days to complete.
Saturday, Sept. 7: The U.S. Open women's singles final will take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium starting at 4 p.m. ET.
Sunday, Sept. 8: The U.S. Open men's singles final will take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium starting at 2 p.m. ET.
How to watch U.S. Open
ESPN: The main sports network will broadcast matches each day throughout the U.S. Open, except for Saturday, Aug. 31. Matches will be shown for a good chunk of the afternoon, up to seven hours a day. All of the semifinals matches and the women's singles final will be broadcast solely on ESPN.
ABC: There will only be two days in which ABC broadcasts part of the tournament—Sunday, Sept. 1, for a few hours during the Round of 16, and then on Sunday, Sept. 8, for the men's singles final.
ESPN2 and ESPN3: The additional ESPN channels will broadcast matches on most days during the major tournament. ESPN3 specifically will keep a stream going for up to 12 hours a day for fans to tune in to whatever matches they want.
ESPN+: The streaming service will broadcast matches for up to 12 hours a day.
Tennis Channel: From the first round through the quarterfinals, the Tennis Channel will broadcast a pregame show before the day's matches begin. After the two singles finals, the Tennis Channel will broadcast an after show.
Defending champions
Men's champion: Novak Djokovic captured his 24th major title at the U.S. Open last year, tying a tennis record with Margaret Court for the most major titles won in history. Winning in New York this year would push Djokovic to the top spot of the list by himself. Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in three sets 6–3, 7–6, 6–3.
Women's champion: Coco Gauff won her first major title in New York last year, beating Aryna Sabalenka 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 after dropping the first set. At 20 years old, the American superstar will be looking to add another major trophy to her collection.
Most titles
Men's players: There's a three-way tie on the men's singles side in the Open Era for the most U.S. Open titles won. Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors all won five U.S. Open titles in their careers. Federer won all five of his in a row from 2004–08. Djokovic is in a tie behind these three guys with four titles, so if he wins this year, he'll make it a four-way tie.
Women's players: There's two women's players tied with six U.S. Open titles a piece in the Open Era—Serena Williams and Chris Evert.
Good hits today, good hits 💪 pic.twitter.com/9OsEVWdYeE
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 22, 2024
Top 10 players
Men's Players
1. Jannik Sinner
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Carlos Alcaraz
4. Alexander Zverev
5. Daniil Medvedev
6. Andrey Rublev
7. Herbert Hurkacz
8. Casper Ruud
9. Grigor Dimitrov
10. Alex de Minaur
Women's Players
1. Iga Swiatek
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Coco Gauff
4. Elena Rybakina
5. Jasmine Paolini
6. Jessica Pegula
7. Zheng Qinwen
8. Barbora Krejcikova
9. Maria Sakkari
10. Jelena Ostapenko
Betting odds
Men's draw
The two most recent men's singles U.S. Open champions—Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz—have the best odds to win this year's title. Alcaraz leads the front with +185 odds, while Djokovic follows closely behind with +250 odds, according to Draft Kings.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has good odds too at +350, but otherwise the rest of the players all sit with +1000 odds or more.
Taylor Fritz has the best odds out of any American man in the competition, sitting in seventh with +5000.
Top 10 best odds
1. Carlos Alcaraz (+185)
2. Novak Djokovic (+250)
3. Jannik Sinner (+350)
4. Alexander Zverev (+1000)
5. Daniil Medvedev (+1600)
6. Andrey Rublev (+4000)
7. Taylor Fritz (+5000)
8. Holger Rune (+6500)
9. Stefanos Tsitsipas (+8000)
10. Matteo Berrettini (+8000)
Women's draw
Last year's runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka has the best odds to win the trophy this year at +250. The World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is right behind her at +400, followed by the reigning champion Coco Gauff at +850, according to Draft Kings.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, who is making her return to the major tournament after giving birth to her first child, sits with the seventh best odds at +2200 to capture a third U.S. Open title.
Top 10 best odds
1. Aryna Sabalenka (+250)
2. Iga Swiatek (+400)
3. Coco Gauff (+850)
4. Elena Rybakina (+900)
5. Jessica Pegula (+1400)
6. Mirra Andreeva (+2000)
7. Naomi Osaka (+2200)
8. Danielle Collins (+2800)
9. Qinwen Zheng (+3000)
10. Paula Badosa (+3500)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2024 U.S. Open: How to Watch, Betting Odds and Favorites to Win.
