US Open 2025: Defending champions, top seeds, schedule, seedings, how to watch and more to know

The 2025 US Open tennis tournament has introduced major changes, including a 15-day schedule starting Sunday, August 24. Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner will defend their titles at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The tournament offers record prize money of $90 million, with singles champions each receiving $5 million.Now that we have covered the summary and given you a gist of what to look forward to at the 2025 US Open, here's everything in a bit more detail for the last major of the year.When does the 2025 US Open start?Technically it already has and we're not talking about the qualifying rounds. The revamped mixed doubles competition — played over two days and shifted to before singles action — took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Singles play begins on Sunday at 11 am ET (8:30pm IST) around the grounds, with the first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium scheduled to begin at noon ET (9:30pm IST).
Who are the defending champions at the US Open?Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner won the 2024 US Open singles trophies. Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 for her first US Open title and third Grand Slam trophy — all on hard courts.Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 for his first championship at Flushing Meadows and second at a major — both on hard courts. He has gone on to win two more Slams since, one on hard courts at the Australian Open in January and the other on grass at Wimbledon in July.Who are the top seeds at Flushing Meadows?Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are the top-seeded woman and top-seeded man, respectively. They are currently ranked No. 1, and the tournament seedings follow the WTA and ATP rankings.Facts about 2025 US Open - year's last Grand Slam tournamentThe US Open tournament is played outdoors on hard courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York. The two main courts are Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium and have roofs.Women play best-of-three-set matches with a first-to-10 tiebreaker at 6-all in the third; men play best-of-five with a tiebreaker at 6-all in the fifth.Like the Australian Open and French Open, there are night sessions at the US Open which start at 7pm ET (4:30am IST).What is new this year at the US Open?First and foremost, the US Open will begin on Sunday, not Monday like it has for many years. Therefore, the tournament will be played over the course of 15 days, joining the French Open and Australian Open in expanding the schedule. Wimbledon the only anomaly that begins on Monday and lasts just 14 days.This year brings notable improvements to the US Open. Video review technology is now available on all 17 competition courts, expanding from just eight courts last year. This system helps check crucial moments like double bounces.What is the singles schedule at the 2025 US Open?The schedule runs through early September, with women's semifinals on September 4 and men's on September 5. The women's final is set for September 6, followed by the men's final on September 7, wrapping up the year's last Grand Slam tournament.How much prize money is there at the 2025 US Open?Total prize money at this year's US Open is a record $90 million, a 20% increase from 2024. The two singles champions will earn $5 million each, another record and more than $1 million higher than the previous top prize at the tournament.How to watch the 2025 US Open live?— In India: Sony Sports Network, SonyLiv— In the US: ESPN, ESPN2, ABC (on the three Sundays)