US Open 2026 Quarterfinals: Sabalenka’s Three-Peat, Alcaraz’s Next Test And Three American Men

The US Open reaches the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, September 8, with eight matches across two days cutting both the men's and women's singles fields down to the final four.

Sabalenka has been the most dominant player left in the draw, yet to drop a set through four matches, chasing a third straight US Open title - a feat only Serena Williams has managed at Flushing Meadows since, running her own three-peat from 2012-2014.

On the American front, Jessica Pegula (a US Open finalist two years ago) and Coco Gauff (the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open champion) carry the women's hopes. On the men's side, no American has won this title since Andy Roddick in 2003 - but three reached this year's quarterfinals: No. 8 Ben Shelton, No. 11 Frances Tiafoe, and unseeded breakout Alex Michelsen. Because Tiafoe and Michelsen face each other, the US is already guaranteed at least one men's semifinalist.

US Open 2026 Quarterfinals Predictions and Preview

US Open Women's Draw: Can Anyone Actually Stop Sabalenka

Sabalenka's four-match run without dropping a set isn't a hot streak - it's a message. But the bracket has quietly lined up two former Grand Slam champions as the players best equipped to test her.

Pegula is expected to get past fellow American Emma Navarro in an all-US quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal against Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova - who, in the boldest call on this side of the draw, is picked to end Sabalenka's three-peat bid and cost her the No. 1 ranking in the process.

Gauff's path runs through Mirra Andreeva first, a genuine heavyweight clash between the last two French Open champions. The winner would face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, for a place in the final.

If the picks hold, the semifinals become a proxy fight between Sabalenka and the two active major champions - Noskova and Rybakina - chasing her down, with two Americans wedged right in the middle of it.

US Open Men's Draw: Chaos at the Top, Order Underneath

Only three seeded men reached the fourth round, which tells you how unsettled this draw already is. That instability is exactly why unseeded Karen Khachanov is favored to upset No. 28 Alexander Blockx and earn a semifinal date with top seed Alexander Zverev - who himself is expected to breeze past a Botic van de Zandschulp still running on fumes after a five-set, three-tiebreaker survival act on Monday.

On the other side, two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz is the pick over Ben Shelton, while Frances Tiafoe is projected to reach his third US Open semifinal (following 2022 and 2024) by ending Alex Michelsen's surprise run.

The shape of it: Alcaraz and Zverev, the two biggest names left, both favored to advance - with just enough room in the picks for an American and an unseeded underdog to crash the final four alongside them.

US Open Women's Quarterfinal Bracket

US Open 2026 Men's Quarterfinal Bracket