2023 US Open: When is the draw, likely seedings, who are absent, streaming and TV channels…

The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, is just days away and we give you all the information you need ahead of the hard-court major.

When does the 2023 US Open take place?

The 143rd edition of the US Open will start on Monday August 28 and the event will come to a conclusion on Sunday September 10. The women’s final will be staged on September 9 with the men’s final taking place the following day.

What about the venue for the season-ending Grand Slam?

This year will mark the 45th anniversary of the tournament being staged at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

The striking venue has 22 outdoor courts, but it will be played on 15 DecoTurf hardcourts. Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand and Court 17 are the showcourts courts and Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong have retractable roofs.

Arthur Ashe is largest tennis stadium in the world as it can host 23,771 people while Louis Armstrong has 14,053 seats, the Grandstand can host 8,125 people and Court 17 has a seating capacity of 2,800.

About the defending champions…

Two new names appeared on the US Open trophies last year as Carlos Alcaraz won his maiden Grand Slam while Iga Swiatek won her first title in New York, but it was her third major overall.

Alcaraz had promised a lot during the 2022 season and he delivered in spectacular fashion at Flushing Meadows as he defeated Casper Ruud 6–4, 2–6, 7–6 (7–1), 6–3 to win a first-ever Slam.

Swiatek, meanwhile, continued her dominant season as she brushed aside all before her, defeating Ons Jabeur 6–2, 7–6 (7–5) in the final.

There was an American winner in the men’s doubles as Rajeev Ram and his British partner Joe Salisbury won the title, Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova completed the Career Super Slam while the Australian duo of Storm Sanders and John Peers won the mixed doubles.

Who will miss the 2023 US Open?

The two big names that are absent from the men’s draw are Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios. Nadal is still recovering from hip surgery while Kyrgios has a wrist injury.

Pablo Carreño Busta, Reilly Opelka, Marin Cilic and Denis Shapovalov will also not feature at Flushing Meadows.

But one player who will feature is Novak Djokovic as he will play at the US Open for the first time since the 2021 final. He missed last year’s edition due to the regulations that prevented unvaccinated foreign travellers from entering the US.

On the women’s side, 2021 champion Emma Raducanu is still not fit following wrist surgery although she would likely have required a wildcard if she was fit due to her ranking.

But the rest of the big guns are expected to be in the women’s draw.

What about the seeds for this year’s event?

The top seed on the men’s side is still a toss-up between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic although the former will secure the No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings through the US Open if he wins he reaches the final of the Cincinnati Open.

The rest of the top 10 seeds are as follows: Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe, though, could still be bumped down by Alexander Zverev.

With Iga Swiatek reaching the quarter-final in Cincinnati, she is assured of being the top seed for her title defence and she is followed by Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia, Maria Sakkari, Marketa Vondrousova and Petra Kvitova.

Protected rankings and wildcards

Big-serving American John Isner as well as Steve Johnson and Michael Mmoh are among the wildcards in the men’s draw while 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic as well as Gael Monfils have used their protected rankings to enter the tournament.

On the women’s side, Grand Slam winners Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki will be in the main draw as they were handed wildcards.

When does qualifying take place?

Qualifying will start on August 22 and come to a conclusion on Friday August 25 with players needing to win three matches to book their places in the main draw.

Speaking of the main draw…

The main draw for the 2023 US Open is set for Thursday, August 24 and it usually takes place around 12:00 New York time (17:00 BST).

There will be 128 players in the main draw with 32 of them seeded. Sixteen of the 128 players will come through qualifying.

Which TV channels will broadcast the tournament?

The US Open returns to Sky Sports in Britain and Ireland after it agreed a five-year deal last year. For those who don’t have Sky Sports in Britain and Ireland, the BBC will have radio commentaries on 5 Live and Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, plus the Sport website and app.

ESPN signed an extended $825-million deal with the USTA to broadcast the US Open in the United States and they will again be the go-to channel. Tennis Channel will have its regular preview shows and extensive match encore programming.

Eurosport will air the US Open in most of mainland Europe while the likes of Sportdeutschland.TV will cover Germany, Austria and Switzerland; and SuperTennis is the host in Italy.

TSN covers Canada, WOWOW will broadcast the tournament Japan, beIN Sports has the rights in the Middle East and North Africa; and ESPN International in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South America and Oceania.

Nine Network has exclusive rights for Australia and it will be available on Stan Sport while SuperSport covers Sub-Saharan Africa.

What about the prize money?

Prize money for the 2023 US Open has hit $65 million, an eight per-cent increase from the 2022 edition.

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