No American man has lifted a Grand Slam trophy in 22 years.
The last time that happened was Andy Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open win, sweeping then-French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP), in three sets. Plagued by injuries, Roddick never won another major, despite reaching four subsequent finals.
The 2003 U.S. Open also marked future “Big Three” member Rafael Nadal’s first U.S. Open major draw appearance. Since then, Nadal (ESP) claimed 22 Grand Slam titles, four as a result of his victories at the U.S. Open.
As the summer rounds out, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, the 2025 U.S. Open, will commence in New York next week with 128 players vying to conquer the hard court.
Over the last two decades, only two Americans have come close to ending the major drought, besides Roddick: Andre Agassi and Taylor Fritz, each reaching the U.S. Open Final.
On the women’s side of things, American tennis has experienced quite the opposite. Every Grand Slam final in 2025 has featured an American woman, with Madison Keys winning the Australian Open and Coco Gauff taking home her first French Open trophy at Roland Garros.
With three years until the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, which also will be played on hard courts, could it be time for an American to break the dry spell?
Leading Americans
Although last month’s National Bank Open was based in Toronto, the tournament featured the first all-American semifinal at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 15 years, with No. 6 Ben Shelton and No. 4 Taylor Fritz facing off. Both will be competing at Flushing Meadows, looking for a Grand Slam win.
Here are the Americans to watch at the 2025 U.S. Open.
Taylor Fritz
The leading American, Fritz, sits at No. 4 — his highest career ranking — heading into his self-proclaimed favorite Grand Slam. With his consistently stellar performances, the 27-year-old hasn’t dropped out of the top 15 since March of 2022. If any American is to walk away a Grand Slam winner, Fritz’s last two U.S. Open runs have framed him as the favorite. During his 2023 journey to the quarterfinal, Fritz blitzed through the tournament (never losing a set) until he met eventual champion Novak Djokovic (SRB). After losing to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner (ITA) in last year’s final, Fritz enters the tournament as the first American runner-up in 16 years.
Ben Shelton
The 22-year-old Atlanta native quickly rose to the top of American tennis after reaching the quarterfinals at the 2023 Australian Open, only his second major tournament. That same year, he became the youngest American man to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since Michael Chang in 1992.
Prior to 2023, the former Florida Gator never won a U.S. Open match, yet he defeated higher-ranked Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe. Shelton’s third-round U.S. Open exit didn’t reflect the fight he put up in the five-set thriller against Tiafoe, which lasted just over four hours. Heading into this U.S. Open, Shelton holds his biggest career title and first ATP Masters 1000 trophy from July’s National Bank Open in Toronto. With such momentum, Shelton could have a real chance at his first Grand Slam title.
Frances Tiafoe
The 2025 season marks Tiafoe’s 10th year in professional tennis, with ten ATP final appearances highlighting his career. During his stellar 2024 U.S. Open journey, he defeated Alexei Popyrin (AUS), Novak Djokovic (SRB) and Ben Shelton, to reach the semifinal — the first Black man to do so since the court’s namesake, Arthur Ashe, over a half century ago.
This season, Tiafoe hasn’t been playing his best tennis, struggling to make it past the third round in the majority of his tournaments. He seemingly made a breakthrough at Roland Garros, reaching the quarterfinal, but not too far after, he faced an early Wimbledon exit in a Round-of-64 loss to underdog Cameron Norrie (GBR). Weeks later, he started preparation for hard court play in his hometown at the DC Open, reaching the quarterfinal but ultimately falling to Shelton. It only was a week ago that Tiafoe was forced to retire from a match at the Cincinnati Open due to a lower back injury. Tiafoe enters the U.S. Open ranked No. 17.
Tommy Paul
Paul kicked off the year with a strong showing, reaching the quarterfinal against Alexander Zverev (GER) at the Australian Open, which pushed him into the top 10 for the first time in his career. As the year went on, he struggled with a number of injuries. Paul’s deep run at Roland Garros was cut short due to an abdominal injury, halting his chances at defending his title at the Queen’s Club, an ATP 500 grass event. This left him with only one match on grass this year before Wimbledon. Once in London, he suffered another injury, rupturing a ligament in his left foot, which resulted in an early Round-of-64 exit and a month’s rest from competition. Now sitting at No. 14, the U.S. Open only will be his second tournament post-injury.
With the hard-court season in full swing, the Americans will have to fight off Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who is seeking his sixth title this year, and defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy, the only ATP players to win Grand Slams over the last two years.
The U.S. Open men’s singles first round begins Sunday, August 24 in New York.
