2018 US Open (tennis)


The 2018 US Open was the 138th edition of tennis' US Open and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens were the defending champions in the men's and women's singles events, however both failed to defend their titles. Nadal retired during his semifinal match against Juan Martín del Potro. Stephens was defeated in the quarterfinals by Anastasija Sevastova, whom Stephens had beaten at the same stage the previous year.
Novak Djokovic won the men's singles title, defeating del Potro in the final, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3. It was his third US Open title and 14th Grand Slam, tying Pete Sampras' record to become equal third among all-time Grand Slam champions. In women's singles, Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in the final, 6–2, 6–4, becoming Japan's first ever able-bodied Grand Slam singles champion.

Tournament

The 2018 US Open was the 138th edition of the tournament and took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. The tournament was held on 17 DecoTurf hard courts.
The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation and was part of the 2018 ATP World Tour and the 2018 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event. There are also singles and doubles events for both boys and girls, which are part of the Grade A category of tournaments. Additionally, there are singles and doubles wheelchair tennis events for men, women and quads.
The tournament was played on hard courts and takes place on a series of 17 courts with DecoTurf surface, including the three existing main showcourts – Arthur Ashe Stadium, the newly renovated Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the new Grandstand.

Broadcast

In the United States, the 2018 US Open will be the fourth year in a row under an 11-year, $825 million contract with ESPN, in which the broadcaster holds exclusive rights to the entire tournament and the US Open Series. This means that the tournament is not available on broadcast television. This also makes ESPN the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for three of the four tennis majors.

Point and prize money distribution

Point distribution

Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.

Senior

Wheelchair

EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32QQ3
Boys' Singles1000600370200100453020
Girls' Singles1000600370200100453020
Boys' Doubles75045027515075
Girls' Doubles75045027515075

Prize money

The total prize-money compensation for the 2018 US Open is $53 million, a more than 5% increase on the same total last year. Of that total, a record $3.8 million goes to both the men's and women's singles champions, which is increased by 2.7% from last year. This makes the US Open the most lucrative and highest paying tennis grand slam in the world, leapfrogging the French Open in total prize money fund. Prize money for the US Open qualifying tournament is also up 10.3%, to $3.2 million. The prize money for the wheelchair draw amounts to a total of US$350,000. The singles winners of the men and women draws receive US$31,200 and the winner of the quad singles receives US$23,400.
EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128Q3Q2Q1
Singles$3,800,000$1,850,000$925,000$475,000$266,000$156,000$93,000$54,000$30,000$16,000$8,000
Doubles$700,000$350,000$166,400$85,275$46,563$27,876$16,500
Mixed Doubles$155,000$70,000$30,000$15,000$10,000$5,000

Notable stories

Women's Singles final

defeated Serena Williams in the final, 6–2, 6–4. During the final, Williams received three code violations, the second coming with a point penalty and the third with a game penalty. The issue started during the second set when chair umpire Carlos Ramos cited Serena for a signal that was sent from her coach. Serena said she was unaware of the signal and verbally sparred with Ramos, saying "I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose." and "You owe me an apology. I have never cheated in my life." After a mistake later in the second set, Serena smashed her racket into the court. This led to her second code violation, which Serena found out about upon attempting to serve and which increased the dispute between Serena and Ramos. During the change at the 3–4 mark, a discussion between Serena and Ramos broke down leading Serena to call Ramos both "a liar" and "a thief." As both players were concluding the changeover and getting set, Ramos issued Serena her third code violation.
This led to confusion from both players who did not appear to hear the announcement, which Ramos explained to both after summoning them over to his seat. At this point, US Open referee, Brian Earley, and WTA supervisor, Donna Kelso, were summoned to the court due to the dispute. A four-minute delay occurred due to a discussion between Serena, Earley, and Kelso regarding the issues. After the delay, Serena won the next game before Osaka won the set and match.

Day-by-day summaries

Singles players

;Men's Singles
;Women's Singles

Singles seeds

The following are the seeded players and notable players who have withdrawn from the event. Seedings are based on ATP and WTA rankings as of August 20, 2018. Rank and points before are as of August 27, 2018.

Men's Singles">2018 US Open – Men's Singles">Men's Singles

†The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2017, but is defending points from one or more 2017 ATP Challenger Tour tournaments.

Women's Singles">2018 US Open – Women's Singles">Women's Singles

† Serena Williams was ranked 26 on the day when seeds were announced. Nevertheless, she was deemed a special case and seeded 17th by the organizers because she missed a significant portion of the last 12-month period due to pregnancy and maternity.
‡ The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2017. Accordingly, points for her 16th best result are deducted instead.

Doubles seeds

Men's doubles">2018 US Open – Men's Doubles">Men's doubles

1Rankings as of August 20, 2018.

Women's doubles">2018 US Open – Women's Doubles">Women's doubles

1Rankings as of August 20, 2018.

Mixed doubles">2018 US Open – Mixed Doubles">Mixed doubles

1Rankings as of August 20, 2018.

Events

Men's Singles

The following players were given wildcards to the main draw based on internal selection and recent performances.

Men's singles

The qualifying competitions took place at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on 21–24 August 2018.

Men's Singles

  1. Ugo Humbert
  2. Stefano Travaglia
  3. Federico Gaio
  4. Casper Ruud
  5. Marcel Granollers
  6. Hubert Hurkacz
  7. Lloyd Harris
  8. Dennis Novak
  9. Félix Auger-Aliassime
  10. Collin Altamirano
  11. Mitchell Krueger
  12. Donald Young
  13. Tommy Robredo
  14. Facundo Bagnis
  15. Yannick Maden
  16. Carlos Berlocq

    Lucky Losers

  17. Lorenzo Sonego
  18. Peter Polansky
  19. Ruben Bemelmans
  20. Nicolas Mahut

    Women's Singles

  21. Jil Teichmann
  22. Marie Bouzková
  23. Anna Kalinskaya
  24. Julia Glushko
  25. Karolína Muchová
  26. Anhelina Kalinina
  27. Arantxa Rus
  28. Francesca Di Lorenzo
  29. Ons Jabeur
  30. Nicole Gibbs
  31. Heather Watson
  32. Vera Zvonareva
  33. Kathinka von Deichmann
  34. Danielle Lao
  35. Patty Schnyder
  36. Eugenie Bouchard

    Lucky Losers

  37. Madison Brengle
  38. Mona Barthel

    Protected ranking

The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:
; Men's Singles
; Women's Singles
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries, suspensions or for personal reasons.
;Men's singles
;Women's singles