Day 1: Djokovic, Venus Williams and Pegula begin US Open campaigns

Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula begin their US Open campaigns on Sunday as the tournament gets under way in New York, with Djokovic opening against Mariano Navone on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic, the fifth seed, is pursuing a record 25th major title and begins the event as a 39-year-old former champion who won his 24th Grand Slam at the US Open in 2023. Since that victory he has reached two major finals and six semi-finals, including the Australian Open final earlier this year and the Wimbledon semi-finals. On retirement speculation he said in a documentary released earlier this month: “I know a lot of people are retiring me already, for many years,” he said in a documentary released earlier this month. “Why would you want me to retire when I am still playing and competing at the highest level? I’m still top-five, top-10 in the world. Why would I talk about retirement when I am proving to myself that I can still win?”

Two-time champion Venus Williams will make her 26th US Open main-draw appearance when she faces fellow American Sofia Kenin in an all-American first-round clash at Flushing Meadows. Williams is 45 years old and remains one of the most recognisable names in the tournament. Kenin is the 2020 Australian Open champion.

Home favourite Jessica Pegula begins her campaign against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her 10th US Open main draw. The 32-year-old reached the 2024 US Open final, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, and Sabalenka ended her run again in the semi-finals last year. This season Pegula has reached the Australian Open semi-finals and the Wimbledon quarter-finals and made the finals in Washington and Cincinnati before arriving in New York.

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk starts against Australia’s Storm Hunter as she seeks to build on a breakthrough season; the 24-year-old reached the semi-finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon and enters the US Open at a career-high No. 11. After Wimbledon Kostyuk said: “I want to cherish this moment. I want to appreciate how far we've all come, me and my team.”

The schedules note that the campaigns of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev will begin later in the tournament; other Day 1 listings include Emma Navarro vs Los Boisson.

These matches form part of the opening round of the US Open on Sunday, with top seeds and the defending champion scheduled to start their campaigns in later sessions of the tournament.