Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton close the 2026 Grand Slam season on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the German chasing a second major and the American chasing the first US men’s singles title in 23 years.
When and where. Sunday, 13 September, 2 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CEST, Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing, New York. Outdoor hard court, roofed stadium.
How to watch. The men’s final is carried live on ABC in the United States for the third consecutive year, with ESPN platforms handling the surrounding coverage. In the United Kingdom the tournament is on Sky Sports Tennis, with individual matches available through Sky Sports+ and day or month passes on NOW.
Head-to-head. Zverev leads 5-0, and none of the five came at a major. The most recent was a straight-sets round-robin win at the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals, a match in which Shelton won only 10 of 54 return points and Zverev took 16 of 21 points played against Shelton’s second serve. Zverev’s backhand has historically handled Shelton’s forehand cross-court. Shelton arrives having beaten Carlos Alcaraz, who was also 3-0 against him before their quarterfinal.
Road to the final: Zverev (1). R1 def. Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(9), 7-5, 6-4. R2 def. Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3. R3 def. Alejandro Tabilo (25) 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-2. R4 def. Luciano Darderi (21) 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3). QF def. Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. SF def. Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(9-7), 7-6(8-6).
Road to the final: Shelton (8). R1 def. Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2. R2 def. Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5. R3 def. Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4. R4 def. Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. QF def. Carlos Alcaraz (2) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7). SF def. Frances Tiafoe (11) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
What is at stake. Shelton would be the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, and the first former college player to do so since John McEnroe in 1984. Zverev, seeded first here after Jannik Sinner withdrew with a knee injury and ranked second on the ATP list, is 1-4 in major finals by the tour’s own count and lost the 2020 US Open final from two sets up. He has reached finals on clay, grass and hard courts this season, winning Roland Garros in June. The winner joins the list of US Open champions since 1968.
Prize money. The singles champion earns $5.5 million, the largest payout to a Grand Slam singles winner in the sport’s history, from a record tournament purse of $108 million, up 20 percent on 2025. Semifinalists banked $1.45 million each.
Khachanov’s run ended in the first semifinal on Friday, Zverev closing out two tiebreaks in which the Russian held set points before losing both.
