As August wrapped up, tennis fans across the United States gathered at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y. for the final grand slam tournament of the 2024 tennis season: the US Open. The most spectated of the grand slams, the US Open was full of storylines heading into this year, as many competitors entered the slam with legitimate shots at the tournament’s coveted trophy. After two weeks full of surprises, upsets, and five-set battles, here are three storylines which stood out. 

The Olympic Hangover was Real

Any year that the Olympics take place, they shake up the tennis landscape. Due to the summer games’ increased importance, many call it the “fifth slam.” Any tennis player who can complete the career grand slam and earn themselves an Olympic gold medal is considered to have completed the “golden slam.” Only five players have completed the golden slam in singles, most recently Novak Djokovic, who won a gold medal at this year’s Olympics to go along with his 24 career grand slam titles.

While this adds more excitement for tennis fans during the season, it adds more stress and exhaustion for players, as another incredibly intense tournament gets added to their schedules. With the US Open starting just 20 days after the conclusion of the Olympics, many were wondering if there would be some noticeable flaws in the athletes’ play. It’s safe to say the Summer Games certainly impacted some of tennis’ best in Queens.

This impact was particularly felt on the men’s draw, as all of the final four men’s players in the Olympics failed to reach the fourth round. This included no. 2 Djokovic, who surprisingly fell to no. 28 Alexei Popyrin. With this loss, 2024 became the first full season in 22 years in which none of the “Big Three”—Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal—have won a grand slam. Djokovic’s opponent in the Olympic final, no. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, fell to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. Bronze medalist and no. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada didn’t make it past the first round, while no. 18 Lorenzo Musetti lost in the third. Only one of the top eight finishers in the Olympics made it to the quarterfinals: no. 4 Alexander “Sascha” Zverev of Germany, who lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist no. 12 Taylor Fritz. 

While the impact wasn’t as substantial in the women’s draw, there was still a noticeable lack of performance from the Olympics’ final eight. Only two of the final eight women in the Olympics made it to the quarterfinals. These two were gold medalist no. 7 Zheng Qinwen of China, who lost to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka, and bronze medalist and no. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, who lost to finalist Jessica Pegula. The rest of the top eight included two first-round, one second-round, one third-round, and one fourth-round exit, with one woman not competing in the tournament. 

The Americans Make Strides in Home Slam

The success of tennis players representing the United States at the US Open has been a tale of two sides. American women’s singles have seen great success, winning nine years since 2000—most recently Coco Gauff’s first individual grand slam title last year. On the men’s side, there have only been two winning years in the same amount of time. Andy Roddick won most recently in 2003. Considering the circumstances of this year’s tournament, and the strong core of American players in both draws, 2024 was shaping up to be the first year since 2002 where the US could be top of the field for both women and men.

On the women’s side, it was shocking to see no. 3 Gauff, who has had a rough 2024 since her semifinal appearance in the Australian Open, fail to make it past the fourth round. However, it was no. 13 Emma Navarro and no. 6 Jessica Pegula who shone for the US. Navarro defeated Gauff in the fourth round in straight sets, marking the second straight grand slam tournament in which she has bested the top-ranked American. On the other half of the bracket, Pegula carved up each opponent she faced, winning in straight sets in all but one of her matches. After defeating Czechia’s Karolina Muchova in the semifinals, she reached her first grand slam final, squaring off against no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Navarro in her semifinal match. While Navarro fought hard, Sabalenka prevailed, winning 7–5, 7–5.

The men’s side was also eager to make noise, and with five American players ranked inside the top 20, there was growing optimism they would succeed. Brandon Nakashima shocked the world by defeating no. 15 Holger Rune in the first round. Nakashima continued to dominate, making it to the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time in his career. No. 13 Ben Shelton made a name for himself at last year’s US Open, making it to the semifinals despite being an unranked player. This year he crossed paths with fellow American and friend, no. 20 Frances Tiafoe, in the third round. The two squared off in the quarterfinals of last year’s US Open, with Shelton winning one of the most entertaining matches of the 2023 season. However, Tiafoe sought and seized revenge, defeating Shelton in another five-set thriller. Tiafoe always finds a way to harness his home crowd in Queens, with his best performances in grand slam tournaments coming in the US Open, and this year was no different. On the other half of the bracket, no. 14 Tommy Paul succeeded as well, playing his way to a fourth-round matchup against Jannik Sinner. Highest-ranked American Taylor Fritz (no. 12) was on a mission, joining Nakashima, Paul, and Tiafoe in the fourth round. It was the first time since 2002–03 that four American men made the fourth round in back-to-back years (Shelton was replaced by Nakashima this year). 

Ultimately, Paul lost to Sinner and Nakashima fell to Zverev, but Fritz and Tiafoe moved on, and after Fritz bested Zverev in the quarterfinals and Tiafoe won after no. 9 Grigor Dimitrov had to concede the match, the two squared off in the semifinals. This was the first time since 2005—when Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri—when two American men faced off against each other in the semifinals. Fritz and Tiafoe played a five-set battle, with Fritz coming out on top and reaching his first career major final. When pitted against no. 1 Jannik Sinner, it was clear that Sinner was the favorite, but the crowd would clearly be rooting for their own statesman. Fritz put up a fight, but the world no. 1 proved to be too much for the American to handle, as Sinner handily defeated Fritz 6–3, 6–4, 7–5.

Sabalenka and Sinner Seize Second Hard-Court Grand Slam Titles of 2024

Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both captured their second grand slam tournament victories at the US Open this year. Coincidentally enough, both of them secured their first victories of the season at the Australian Open. As the two hard-court major tournaments, the Australian and US Opens have been won by the same player many times, including Germany’s Angelique Kerber in 2016 and Novak Djokovic last season. The last time this happened in both the women’s and men’s singles draws was 1988, when Germany’s Steffi Graff and Sweden’s Mats Wilander earned their hard-court crowns. Sinner and Sabalenka also captured their US Open crowns on the second of back-to-back tournament wins, as they both took home the hardware at the Cincinnati Open a week before US Open play began. 

Sabalenka’s dominance over the hard court is undeniable and impressive. Over the last two seasons, she’s a remarkable 27–1 on hard courts at majors. The only loss happened in the final of the 2023 US Open, when she fell to Coco Gauff. With this victory, Sabalenka earned her third grand slam title, all of which she’s achieved on hard courts. Entering next season, she will look to earn her third straight Australian Open title, which would tie her with five other women for the most consecutive Australian Open victories. 

This year’s title, though, came with some serious hardships. On June 22 of this year, Sabalenka had to retire from her match against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya at the Berlin Open due to shoulder pain. She claimed she could not serve without serious pain, which limited a major part of her powerful presence on the court. After attempting to rehab in time for the next grand slam, she announced on July 1 that she had to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships. She also decided not to compete in the Olympics later that month. After taking time off to nurse her injury, she returned to action at the Washington, D.C. Open in late July. She played in one other hard-court tournament in August before capturing the title at Cincinnati, giving her the momentum needed to go on a dominant run in Queens. She only dropped one set over the course of the tournament, beating some formidable and familiar opponents along the way. She defeated Qinwen, whom she beat in the Australian Open final in January, in the quarterfinals, and routed Americans Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula in the semifinals and finals on her way to the title. 

Sabalenka had an impressive run to her two grand slam titles this year, as did Jannik Sinner. The Italian has had a career-defining 2024, achieving the best finishes of his career in three of the four grand slams. He also became the first Italian man to be ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour in tennis history. The Australian and US Opens are only two of the six titles Sinner achieved in 2024, the most singles titles of any tennis player this year. However, it was Sinner’s complicated new controversy that dominated the narrative as he entered this tournament.

In March of this year, Sinner tested positive twice for the banned substance clostebol. The source of this substance was found in an over-the-counter spray that Sinner’s team had been using for his preparation. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), an automatic suspension is to be applied to any player who tests positive for clostebol, but players can appeal the ruling. Sinner did so successfully, avoiding a suspension and continuing the season. Reports of these tests only came to light in mid-August, about a week before the US Open began. Sinner’s team clarified that the application of the illegal substance was unintentional, which was confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), and Sinner was given minimal punishment. Tennis players from around the world weighed in on the issue, with many shocked that Sinner was not given a harsher penalty. Nevertheless, Sinner quieted the noise against him, cruising through the tournament, only dropping two sets throughout his run to the title. 

While countless storylines, good and bad, surrounded the final grand slam of 2024, it shaped up to be a fantastic end this season’s major tournaments. With many of the stars of the US Open competing in postseason tournaments, all eyes will be on the Laver Cup this weekend and the WTA and ATP Finals in November. And while tennis fans will get to see their favorite players play maybe once or twice before the end of 2024, the excitement is already beginning for the next season and the next grand slam: the 2025 Australian Open.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.