US Open 2023: Alcaraz and Sabalenka Face Intense Competition

The floodlights are on in Queens, the last major of the year is in full swing, and the chase for the US Open crown already feels ruthless.

Carlos Alcaraz walks back into Flushing Meadows with a target on his back and a point to prove. This is his first tournament since injury, yet he returns as defending champion and clear favorite. The draw offers no gentle reintroduction. With Jannik Sinner sidelined, the threat comes from a different pack: Alexander Zverev’s heavy artillery, Ben Shelton’s fearless shot‑making, Flavio Cobolli’s rising confidence, and the ever-calculating presence of Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz still stands at the front of the line, but the line behind him is getting louder.

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka is trying to do something notoriously difficult in New York: defend a title while everyone else is gunning for your ranking as much as your trophy. The world No. 1 tag hangs by a thread. Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula are all within striking distance of that top spot, turning every round into a two-front battle for Sabalenka — scoreboard and standings.

Then there’s Iga Świątek, the 2022 champion, playing the role no one quite expected this time: dangerous outsider. A turbulent season has given way to a sharp resurgence over the past month, and while a return to No. 1 isn’t on the immediate horizon, her form is suddenly ominous again. She isn’t the headline favorite, but she’s very much in the conversation.

Naomi Osaka’s name still carries a certain electricity at this tournament, and Alex Eala is quietly emerging as one of the more intriguing watches in the draw. Venus Williams has already exited the singles stage, but the Williams legacy is not done for the fortnight. She joins forces with Serena Williams in women’s doubles, a pairing that instantly changes the mood whenever they step on court.

How to watch the chaos unfold

In Australia, the simplest route for casual viewers is 9Now, which will stream select matches at no cost once fans create an account. For those wanting every ball struck, Stan Sport holds the keys to the full broadcast. A Stan base subscription plus the Sport add-on comes to $30 a month, a price that buys access to every match on offer. Channel Nine’s coverage and 9Now’s streaming have historically grown more comprehensive as the tournament deepens, with a clear spotlight on top seeds and home hopes.

In the United States, the picture is sprawling but straightforward. ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC carry the bulk of the live action, with ESPN+ picking up the matches that don’t make linear TV. An ESPN Unlimited subscription, at $32 a month, folds all of that under one umbrella — live feeds from the flagship channels, ABC’s ESPN content, and the streaming-only ESPN+ schedule.

For those who prefer live TV streaming platforms, the options are stacked. Fubo’s Sports + News plan, at $65 a month, includes ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 among roughly 30 channels, with a discount for new users and a free trial to start. Its Pro and Elite packages push the channel count past 200 and, crucially, all three tiers unlock ESPN Unlimited at no extra charge, covering those ESPN+ exclusives in the process.

YouTube TV goes down a similar road. ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 are available in both the Main and Sports plans. The Main plan lists at $83 a month, but new subscribers can slice $15 off each of their first five months. The Sports plan, normally $65, currently drops to $45 a month for the first six months under a limited-time deal, and both plans open with a free trial. For US fans, there’s no shortage of doors into Flushing Meadows.

Across the Atlantic, British viewers know where to turn. Sky Sports holds the rights in the UK, with coverage available through standard Sky TV packages. For those unwilling to lock into a longer contract, Now offers a more flexible route to the same courts, including a single-day pass priced at £15 for fans who want to dip in at peak drama.

Watching from anywhere

Travel doesn’t have to mean missing the night sessions in New York. Tennis fans outside their usual broadcast region often lean on VPN services to access their preferred platforms. A VPN — a virtual private network — masks and shifts a device’s apparent location, a tool as useful for cybersecurity as it is for staying connected to familiar apps and services on the road. Proton VPN stands out among those options, with a broad server network and a user-friendly setup that doesn’t demand technical expertise.

Local laws still matter. VPNs are illegal in some countries, and using them to bypass regional streaming restrictions can breach terms of use. The technology is there; how it’s used is another story.

The favorites, the shocks, and the stakes

The bookmakers have nailed their colors to the mast. At the start of the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz opened as the men’s singles favorite at +120 on DraftKings. Aryna Sabalenka leads the women’s field at +290. Both carry expectation. Both carry pressure. Both know that in New York, those odds can unravel in a single bad night.

Evidence of that volatility has already arrived. The standout shock so far: Novak Djokovic, a four-time US Open champion, sent home in the first round. Mariano Navone outlasted him in a brutal five-set marathon, a result that rips a gaping hole in one side of the draw and changes the calculus for everyone left in it. Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Lorenzo Musetti have also departed earlier than they would have hoped, trimming the list of established threats in the men’s field.

The women’s draw has been calmer. Upsets have come, but nothing to match the seismic jolt of Djokovic’s exit. The top names largely remain in place, which only heightens the tension as the rounds tick by and the stakes climb.

All of it unfolds in the familiar cauldron of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, tucked into Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. The noise, the late finishes, the New York edge — they’re all back.

The title is still out there, the last major statement of the season waiting to be made. Who grabs it under the lights?