Sport· Main draw begins
When Is US Open Tennis 2026 Main Draw Start Date?Match date
Scroll to release dateWhen does the 2026 US Open main draw begin? Sunday, August 30 at Flushing Meadows — Fan Week and qualifying run August 23–29 first.
Current target date: Sunday, August 30, 2026 (Main draw begins). We update this page when Us open tennis publishes schedule changes.
US Open main-draw singles start Sunday, August 30, 2026. Fan Week (Aug 23–29) is qualifying/exhibitions with a free Fan Access Pass — not Day 1 of the draw. Finals Sep 12–13.
Main draw begins
Sunday, August 30, 2026
August 30, 2026 — main-draw Day 1 at Flushing Meadows
US Open main-draw singles begin Sunday, August 30, 2026, at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That is the first round of the 128-player draws — the start of the 15-day Sunday-start championship window through September 13.
Fan Week already filled the grounds August 23–29. This countdown is ticketed Day 1, not the free Fan Access Pass week.
Confirmed: Sun Aug 30 main draw — not Fan Week Aug 23, not finals week, not Wimbledon
Confirmed: main-draw singles Sunday, August 30, 2026; Fan Week / qualifying August 23–29; Kids’ Day August 23; women’s final September 12; men’s final September 13; ESPN U.S. window. Not confirmed as exact night-session order until the order of play drops. Fake “tournament starts August 23 for everyone” stubs confuse free Fan Week with paid main-draw Day 1.
Fan Week first — then two weeks of main-draw hard courts
- Aug 23 — Fan Week opens; Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.
- Aug 23–29 — qualifying, Mixed Doubles, exhibitions.
- Aug 30 — Main-draw Round 1 begins (this countdown).
- Sep 12 — Women’s singles final.
- Sep 13 — Men’s singles final.
How to buy August without mixing Fan Pass and Ashe night sessions
- Fan Week = free Fan Access Pass (Aug 23–29) — different product from Day 1 tickets.
- Main-draw Day 1 = Sunday, August 30 — first singles matches that count in the draw.
- Kids’ Day is August 23 in 2026 — still Fan Week, not championship Day 1.
- Finals are mid-September — separate SKUs from opening weekend.
- Sibling traps: men’s/women’s final pages; golf U.S. Open at Pebble is a different sport.
The grounds open August 23 — but the main-draw scoreboard does not turn on until August 30
USTA’s Fan Week is loud on purpose: qualifying, Mixed Doubles, Kids’ Day moved to August 23, free Fan Access Passes. Search treats that Sunday as “US Open start.” It isn’t the main draw. Round 1 of the championship singles draws begins the following Sunday, August 30.
That one-week gap is why this page exists separately from finals countdowns and why “tournament starts the 23rd” copy fails SEO honesty tests. Same Flushing Meadows; different product.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this release date.
1When does the 2026 US Open main draw start?
Sunday, August 30, 2026 — first-round singles at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The championships then run through Sunday, September 13.
2Isn’t the US Open already on from August 23?
Fan Week (August 23–29) covers qualifying, Mixed Doubles, Kids’ Day, and exhibitions — free Fan Access Pass grounds entry. Ticketed main-draw singles Day 1 is Sunday, August 30.
3When are the 2026 singles finals?
Women’s final Saturday, September 12; men’s final Sunday, September 13 — separate countdown pages from this main-draw open.
4What changed about Kids’ Day in 2026?
Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day moves to Sunday, August 23, to kick off Fan Week — not the old midweek Fan Week slot. It is still Fan Week programming, not main-draw Day 1.
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