Men's semifinals on Friday, final on Sunday: US Open sets decisive stage

The new development of the past few hours is not a result but a schedule. While this morning’s edition stopped at the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz and the part of the draw that exit opened up, the organization of the US Open 2026 has set the decisive stage: the men’s semifinals will be played on Friday, September 11, and among the pairings is Alexander Zverev against Karen Khachanov. The men’s final is scheduled for Sunday, September 13 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

What changes from this morning. The men’s picture goes from a draw in motion to a grid with dates and names. Alcaraz was the number 2 seed and was returning after four months away: with him out, the top seed still in contention is Zverev, the number 1 seed. This is a positioning fact, not a prediction: in a semifinal the number next to the name is not worth a point.

On the women’s side the step has already taken place. Overnight between Thursday and Friday the two semifinals were played, Aryna Sabalenka against Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff against Elena Rybakina. At the time this piece was published, the material available to us documents that the two matches were played, not their outcomes: who won is not written here because it has not been verified, and an unverified result does not enter the newspaper. Those looking for the scores will find them before we do; those looking to us for a wrong number will not find it.

An absence and a presence remain to be noted. Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the tournament, and his absence weighs on a men’s draw that in a few weeks has lost two of the names that would have shaped the predictions. The Italian presence has shifted to doubles: Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori played the men’s doubles quarterfinals on September 10.

A methodological note, because it concerns the value of what you have read above. The three outlets cited below converge, but the primary source is the same in every case: the official schedule and draw released by the tournament organization. For the purposes of our count of origins, this is therefore a single source, institutional and first-hand on a schedule — the body that sets the times is also the one that announces them — but lacking independent verification of itself. On schedules this is the most solid case possible; on results it would not be enough.

From now until Sunday, the Flushing Meadows program provides for two men’s semifinals on Friday, September 11 and the final on the 13th at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sources: Sky Sport; Calcio e Finanza; Olympics.com. Common primary source: official US Open 2026 schedule and draw.