The 2022 United States Open starts on Monday from Flushing Meadows, New York. So what does the final grand slam of the tennis season have in store? Let us take a look.
1) Serena Williams’s retirement.
This will be the final major tournament for one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. Even though Serena Williams of Saginaw, Michigan has one less major all-time than Australian legend Margaret Smith Court (Williams has 23 majors while Smith Court has 24), many have called Williams the G.O.A.T. Of Williams’s 23 major titles, six have come at the U.S. Open. Over the years, the finalists Serena Williams has beaten are Victoria Azarenka of Belarus twice (2012 and 2013), Martina Hingis of Switzerland (1999), Serena’s sister Venus Williams of the United States (2002), Jelena Jankovic of Serbia (2008), Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (2014). Williams and Azaerenka have something in common as they are both mothers on the WTA Tour.
2) Novak Djokovic absent.
Due to the fact Novak Djokovic is not vaccinated, he is barred from entering the United States and will not be able to participate in the final grand slam of the year. This will be the second major this year that Djokovic is unable to participate in because of his decision not to be vaccinated. He missed the Australian Open in January too. Of Djokovic’s 21 grand slam titles, three have come at the United States Open. He defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 in 2011, Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in 2015, and Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in 2018. Djokovic was also the reigning Wimbledon champion as he beat Nick Kyrgios of Australia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 in the final last month.
3) Angelique Kerber pregnant.
Unlike Serena Williams at the Australian Open in 2017, Germany’s Angelique Kerber will not be competing at a grand slam championship while pregnant. The 34-year-old from Bremen announced her decision not to compete at the United States Open earlier this week. Of Kerber’s three grand slam singles titles, one has come at the U.S. Open. In 2016, she beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
4) Notable injuries.
There have been three notable injuries in the men’s draw. Not present are Gael Monfils of France (foot), Alexander Zverev of Germany (ankle), and Reilly Opelka of the United States (undisclosed). Zverev reached the 2020 United States Open final before losing to Dominic Thiem of Austria in five close sets, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. Due to the wacky ranking system in the moment in tennis, Zverev finds himself still ranked second in the world, despite the fact he has not a won a single tournament in 2022 and has not played a single match since tearing three ligaments in his ankle during the semifinal of the French Open, where he lost to the great Rafael Nadal of Spain, best known as the King of Clay.
Monfils meanwhile injured his foot in the third round of the Canadian Open against Jack Draper of Great Britain. Things were going great for Monfils in Montreal prior to the injury as he beat Pedro Martinez of Spain in the first round (7-6, 3-6, 6-2) and Maxime Cressy of the United States in the second round (7-6, 7-6). Monfils reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2016.
Opelka meanwhile has only played two matches since Wimbledon. Both came in Washington, as he beat Denis Kudla of the United States in round one and lost to Nick Kyrgios of Australia in round two.
5) The Russians and Belarusians are coming!
Unlike Wimbledon where the Russians and Belarusians were not allowed to participate because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete at the U.S. Open. Notable Russians and Belarusians who are scheduled to compete are Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Victoria Azarenka, Dmitri Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev.
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