Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – the two leading players in the men’s game – have not entered.
Spain’s seven-time major champion Alcaraz, who played alongside Britain’s Emma Raducanu at Flushing Meadows last year, is still recovering from a wrist injury and it is not certain when he will return.
Italy’s Sinner – who won his fifth major at Wimbledon last month – did not play in last year’s revamped event and has pulled out of the upcoming Canadian Open to “prioritise” his health.
There is also no place yet for Serena Williams. The 23-time major singles champion made her comeback at Wimbledon last month but sustained a knee injury which ruled her out of a planned doubles appearance alongside older sister Venus.
But the announcement of the first wave of entries does not mean Williams will not play – nor does it guarantee the pairings who signed up already will end up taking part.
When the entry window closes on 17 August, the six teams with the best combined singles ranking will be directly accepted into the main draw.
Eight teams will be given wildcards, while the final two places will be decided by an eight-team qualifying round played on 24 August.
Leave a Reply