8 first-round matches to watch at 2026 US Open

Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik gave themselves the perfect start to the 2026 US Open after winning the mixed doubles title with victory over Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday. The Czech pair defeated their Swiss-Italian opponents 6-3, 1-6, [10-6] at Arthur Ashe Stadium to claim the US$1 million winners' prize and their first Grand Slam title together.

 

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Muchova and Mensik took the opening set before Bencic and Cobolli responded emphatically in the second to force a deciding 10-point match tiebreak. The Czechs then regained control, with Mensik's powerful serving helping them establish an advantage before the 20-year-old fittingly sealed the championship with an ace. Their path to the title had included an even tighter semi-final against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, where Muchova and Mensik saved two match points before advancing to the final.

 

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The title also provided both players with an early confidence boost ahead of their respective singles campaigns at Flushing Meadows. Muchova is seeded seventh in the women's singles as she looks to build on an impressive US Open record, having previously reached the semi-finals in New York in 2023 and 2024. Mensik, meanwhile, enters the men's draw as the 17th seed and will be hoping to carry his mixed doubles momentum into a deep singles run. The US Open singles main draw gets underway on August 30, with the action live on SPOTV NOW.

Five seats remain officially unfilled on the 2027 MotoGP grid following another wave of rider announcements ahead of the championship's switch to new 850cc machinery. VR46 Racing Team, Honda HRC, LCR Honda, Red Bull KTM Tech3 and Prima Pramac Yamaha each have one vacancy remaining, with several established names and rising stars still in contention.

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The 2027 rider market has already produced some of the biggest moves in recent MotoGP history, particularly among the factory teams. Ducati will retain reigning world champion Marc Marquez but have signed Pedro Acosta from KTM as his new team-mate, while Francesco Bagnaia will leave the Italian manufacturer to partner Marco Bezzecchi at Aprilia. Yamaha will have an entirely new factory line-up after signing 2024 world champion Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura, while Fabio Quartararo will end his long association with the Japanese manufacturer to join Honda HRC. KTM have also completely reshaped their factory team, with Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio replacing Acosta and Brad Binder for the start of the new technical era. There have been significant changes among the satellite teams too.

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Gresini have completed their line-up with 2020 world champion Joan Mir and Moto2 graduate Daniel Holgado, while Trackhouse will field Raul Fernandez alongside Enea Bastianini. Luca Marini became the latest rider to secure his future after agreeing to leave Honda for Tech3, while Fermin Aldeguer will remain within the Ducati family by switching from Gresini to VR46. Their moves leave five places still to be decided.

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At Honda, the question is less about who will remain in MotoGP and more about where they will race. HRC have already signed Moto2 star David Alonso on a multi-year deal, while Diogo Moreira is also under contract with the manufacturer. One is expected to partner Quartararo at Honda HRC, with the other potentially joining Johann Zarco at LCR, meaning two of the five remaining seats could effectively be filled by the two young South American riders. VR46 have another intriguing decision to make alongside Aldeguer. WorldSBK star Nicolo Bulega has emerged as the leading candidate after playing an important role in Ducati's development of its 850cc MotoGP prototype. A promotion would give the Italian his first full-time MotoGP opportunity and keep both VR46 seats occupied by Ducati-contracted riders.

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Tech3, meanwhile, have one place remaining alongside Marini, with Moto2 contenders Senna Agius and Manuel Gonzalez among the names linked with the seat. Agius has been particularly strongly associated with a promotion, which would give the Australian his MotoGP debut and provide another example of KTM looking towards the intermediate class for its next generation of talent. The final vacancy is at Pramac, where Toprak Razgatlioglu is already contracted for a second MotoGP season with Yamaha. Former Moto3 world champion Izan Guevara has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Jack Miller, potentially giving the Spaniard his first opportunity in the premier class after four seasons in Moto2. The remaining decisions could therefore add several more rookies to a grid already guaranteed to feature Holgado, while Alonso is also set to make the step up through his Honda deal. It also leaves several experienced MotoGP riders facing uncertain futures. Binder, Miller, Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins have all been linked with moves to the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), while Maverick Vinales is another established race winner without a confirmed MotoGP seat for 2027.

Stan Wawrinka will get one final appearance at the US Open after all, with the former champion receiving a last-minute main-draw wildcard just days before the tournament begins. The 41-year-old was initially overlooked when organisers announced their wildcard selections last week, seemingly ending his hopes of returning to Flushing Meadows during his final season as a professional. However, an injury withdrawal by American Patrick Kypson opened up a place, which the United States Tennis Association subsequently awarded to Wawrinka.

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“I’m incredibly excited to accept the wildcard for the 2026 US Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again,” he said in a statement. Wawrinka produced one of the biggest victories of his career in New York in 2016, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the final to claim his third and most recent Grand Slam singles title. The Swiss veteran has now received wildcards into all four Grand Slam tournaments during his farewell season, having also been granted places at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. His late inclusion adds another former champion to a men's field already missing world number one Jannik Sinner through injury, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are among the leading contenders. The 2026 US Open main draw begins on August 30, with the action live on SPOTV NOW.

Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev ended Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori's bid for a third consecutive US Open mixed doubles title before continuing their impressive run into the semi-finals in New York. The Russian pair came from a set down to defeat the defending champions 1-4, 4-1, [11-9] in a dramatic first-round encounter on Tuesday, saving match point during the deciding tiebreak before completing the upset.

 

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The defeat ended Errani and Vavassori's two-year reign after the Italians won the title in 2024 and successfully defended it under the revamped mixed doubles format last year. Their elimination also guarantees new US Open mixed doubles champions, with none of the remaining pairs having previously won the title. Andreeva and Rublev then returned to court later in the day to face Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud, who had earlier eliminated second seeds Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz. Another tight contest followed, with Andreeva and Rublev eventually prevailing 4-1, 4-5(9), [10-5] to book their place in the final four. They will next face the all-Czech pairing of Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik, who reached the semi-finals with a straight-set victory over Americans Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul. The other semi-final will feature husband-and-wife duo Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils against Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. Svitolina and Monfils put together a memorable first Grand Slam mixed doubles campaign by knocking out Alexandra Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round before taking down Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten. Bencic and Cobolli, meanwhile, ended the high-profile partnership of Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz with a 5-4(4), 4-1 quarter-final victory, having also beaten Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev earlier in the day. The two semi-finals and final will all take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday, with the eventual champions taking home the US$1 million winners' prize. Watch the conclusion of the 2026 US Open mixed doubles championship live on SPOTV NOW and SPOTV Asia's YouTube channel.