US Open predictions: The Sky Sports Tennis panel pick their winners!
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Sky Sports Tennis panel of eight pundits (Tim Henman, Laura Robson, Ryan Harrison, Naomi Broady, Naomi Cavaday, Jonathan Overend, Marion Bartoli and Martina Navratilova) each picked a men's and women's winner plus a men's and women's dark horse for the US Open.
- Jannik Sinner's absence from the draw and Carlos Alcaraz's return from a long injury lay-off make the men's tournament "wide open," according to Henman, shaping nearly every panelist's reasoning.
- Sascha Zverev is the most-picked men's winner (Henman, Robson and Navratilova), with Henman crediting his increased aggression and consistent serve since winning his first Grand Slam at the French Open.
- Novak Djokovic is backed to win by Harrison and Bartoli; Harrison cited his run to the Australian Open final against Alcaraz as evidence he still performs at hardcourt majors.
- Coco Gauff leads the women's picks (Harrison, Overend and Bartoli), with Overend noting she won Cincinnati and the 2023 US Open and arguing her technical flaws will become "less obvious."
- Arthur Fils is the consensus dark horse — Henman, Robson, Bartoli, Broady and Overend all named him after his Cincinnati title, though Henman and Overend flagged his injury history as a risk over seven best-of-five matches.
- The US Open runs from Sunday 30 August 2026, live on Sky Sports Tennis, the Sky Sports app and NOW, with the Laver Cup at London's O2 (25–27 September) also on Sky Sports.
Why it matters: Sinner's absence and Alcaraz's injury comeback have cracked open a men's draw that normally has a clear favorite — the Sky panel reflects that uncertainty by splitting its men's winner picks across four different players (Zverev, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Fils). For British viewers tuning into Sky's coverage, this panel functions as the main map of an unusually unpredictable final Grand Slam of 2026.
Ask SkimNews
