The second week of the US Open 2026 began with action in the round of 16, as defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka returned to the court. Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals in his first tournament back after a right wrist injury. Sabalenka defeated Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals. Alcaraz, who had been sidelined for nearly five months, has now won 18 consecutive Grand Slam matches.
Ben Shelton defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s singles round of 16, according to Reuters. At Louis Armstrong Stadium, Frances Tiafoe defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6) in a key men’s singles contest. Jessica Pegula defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-4 in the women’s singles, while Emma Navarro beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2 in another important match. Those results set up quarterfinals between Alcaraz and Shelton, Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen, Pegula and Navarro, and Sabalenka and Linda Noskova.
Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in a women’s singles round of 16 match. Alex Michelsen defeated Tomás Martín Etcheverry 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 in a men’s singles match on the Grandstand. Indian tennis players were also involved in Day 8 action, with Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi competing in the junior girls’ singles. Arnav Vijay Paparkar was scheduled to play in the junior boys’ singles first round against Andrew Johnson. Sriram Balaji was scheduled to compete in men’s doubles with partner Evan King against Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys. The matches were scheduled at various times across the day, with some starting in the evening in India and others continuing into the early hours.
Arthur Ashe Stadium hosted the first matches of the day, with Sabalenka’s match against Taylor Townsend scheduled for 9:00 PM IST on Sept. 6. Alcaraz’s match against Paul was scheduled for not before 11:30 PM IST on Sept. 6. Ben Shelton’s match against Tsitsipas was scheduled to begin not before 4:30 AM IST on September 7. The final women’s singles match of the day was between Anna Kalinskaya and Emma Navarro, with the original schedule placing it after Shelton and Tsitsipas at roughly 6:00 AM IST on Sept. 7. The men’s singles match between Medvedev and Tiafoe was scheduled to start not before 12:30 AM IST. Jessica Pegula’s match against Cirstea was scheduled to follow Medvedev and Tiafoe’s contest, with an estimated start around 2:00 AM IST on September 7. Alex Michelsen’s match against Etcheverry was scheduled to begin not before midnight.
Indian viewers can watch the matches live on Star Sports and JioHotstar in India, as the tournament continues. ESPN will broadcast the event in the United States, while Sky Sports covers it in the UK. The official US Open broadcast-partner list identifies ESPN in the United States, JioStar in the Indian subcontinent and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were both in action on Day 8. The tournament has now moved deeper into the knockout stage, with half of the men’s and women’s quarterfinal places decided on Sunday. Several top players have already lost in earlier rounds, including Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova. Keys was eliminated by Zheng Qinwen in the third round after holding a match point. The US Open 2026 continues to draw strong attention with matches featuring many of the sport’s biggest names.
IMAGE: Roland Garros 2021 – 2ème tour contre N. Basilashvili. Photo: Yannick JAMOT / Wikimedia, taken 2021-06-03, CC BY-SA 4.0