The final major staging post on the road to the US Open is set to be a heavyweight affair. The Cincinnati Open on Wednesday released the initial singles entry lists for its 2026 edition, and ten former champions sit at the head of a field that reads like a top-of-the-tour roll call. The tournament, which runs from 8 to 23 August at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, will be the last big hard-court tune-up before the US Open begins in New York on 31 August. On this evidence, the leading players are treating it as essential preparation rather than an optional stop.
Former Cincinnati winners heading the entries are Swiatek (2025), Sabalenka (2024), Gauff (2023), Madison Keys (2019) and Karolina Pliskova (2016) on the women’s side, alongside Alcaraz (2025), Sinner (2024), Novak Djokovic (a three-time champion in 2018, 2020 and 2023), Alexander Zverev (2021) and Daniil Medvedev (2019). Eight players in the field have been ranked world No. 1 at some point in their careers, including the current top two, Sabalenka and Sinner. The others are Swiatek, Alcaraz, Naomi Osaka, Pliskova, Djokovic and Medvedev.
The depth behind those names is considerable. Of the 153 players listed across the two draws, 108 have won at least one tour-level title and 15 have won at least one major. Forty-three of them — 24 men and 19 women — have already lifted a trophy in 2026.
Sinner leads that group. The world No. 1, fresh from defending his Wimbledon crown last month, has won six titles this season, a haul that includes all five ATP Masters 1000 events contested so far — Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome. His run in Rome in May made him the youngest player to complete the Career Golden Masters, and he arrives in Ohio as the man to beat. Sabalenka, the reigning US Open champion, and Roland Garros winner Mirra Andreeva lead the women with three titles apiece.
The most closely watched name on the men’s list, though, may be Alcaraz. The Spaniard, who defends the Cincinnati title he won in 2025, appears on the entry list for the first time since a right-wrist injury sustained at the Barcelona Open in April forced him out of the French Open and Wimbledon. His inclusion is the clearest signal yet that he intends to return in time for the US Open, though an entry is a statement of intent rather than a guarantee he will step on court, and his team has offered no firm date.
There is fresh silverware scattered throughout the field. Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova brings her breakthrough grass-court form to the hard courts, Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina adds further Slam pedigree, and Osaka — a four-time major champion enjoying a resurgent season — rounds out a women’s draw stacked with contenders. Three players enter using an injury-protected ranking: Holger Rune, Juncheng Shang and Lois Boisson.
“We are excited to welcome the world’s best players back to the Cincinnati Open next month,” tournament director Bob Moran said in the release. “To have the available top 75 men and women sign up to compete for this highly coveted title speaks volumes about the importance of this event on the respective calendars.”
For the leading contenders, the stakes extend beyond the Rookwood Cup. Cincinnati is the last chance to bank match play, ranking points and hard-court rhythm before the season’s final Grand Slam, and for the defending champions — Swiatek and Alcaraz — it carries the added pressure of substantial points to protect. With the top names committed and a returning former world No. 1 in the draw, the tournament that opens in Ohio in three weeks looks set to frame the narratives that carry into New York.
