The US Open starts on Monday with Emma Raducanu as the defending women's champion; Novak Djokovic will not take part due to his vaccination status; this year's Grand Slam could be Serena Williams' last after her announcement she is going to be 'evolving away from tennis'
Friday 26 August 2022 06:05, UK
Emma Raducanu will start the defence of her US Open title against Alize Cornet, with Serena Williams taking on Danka Kovinic in the first round.
Raducanu and the world No 27 Cornet have never met before on the women's Tour. Cornet will be playing in her 63rd consecutive Slam, which will break the record for most consecutive main draw appearances at Grand Slams by a WTA player.
Like Raducanu, Williams has also never faced her first-round opponent. Kovinic sits 80th in the world rankings and if Williams triumphs over her, then the 40-year-old could then meet the world No 2 Anett Kontaveit in the second round.
Raducnau's second-round opponent is either Taylor Townsend or Katerina Siniakova.
Britain's Andy Murray has been drawn against the 24th seed in the men's draw, Francisco Cerundolo.
Cameron Norrie's opening match at Flushing Meadows will be against Frenchman Benoit Paire and he is in the same quarter of the draw as Rafael Nadal. Nadal takes on wildcard Rinky Hijikata, the world No 198, in the first round.
Dan Evans has an encounter with Jiri Vesely and Kyle Edmund's return to New York is a challenging one, as he has drawn the fifth seed Casper Ruud. Jack Draper faces Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland while Harriet Dart begins her campaign against Russian 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Novak Djokovic will not take part in this year's competition due to his vaccination status.
An eye-catching opener in the women's draw is the encounter between the former US Open champion Naomi Osaka and American Danielle Collins.
Harmony Tan, the victor over Serena Williams in the first round at Wimbledon, will take on the 2019 winner in New York, Bianca Andreescu.
Venus Williams is returning to Flushing Meadows via a wildcard; it will be her 23rd appearance at the US Open and she will take on 28-year-old Alison Van Uytvanck.
Coco Gauff, Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula have all drawn qualifiers in the first round.
The world No 1 Iga Swiatek takes on Italy's Jasmine Paolini, before potentially meeting American Sloane Stephens in the second round.
Maria Sakkari, the third seed, has a fascinating first-round encounter with this year's Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria.
Over in the men's draw, it's the first time in 19 years that one of the big four - Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray - is not seeded as No 1. Instead, that honour goes to Daniil Medvedev and Nadal is the third seed.
Medvedev, the defending champion, has a first-round meeting with Stefan Kozlov and he could meet American Ben Shelton, who recently overcame Ruud, in the third round.
As he continues his comeback from injury, Dominic Thiem has drawn Pablo Carreno Busta in round one and Carlos Alcaraz meets Argentina's Sebastian Baez.
Big-serving John Isner, the recent winner in Cincinnati, Borna Coric, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime will all take on qualifiers in their first matches.
Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/tennis, our Twitter account @skysportstennis & Sky Sports - on the go! Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android
