The five players who are desperately in need of having a good US Open this year

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The final Grand Slam tournament of the year at the US Open is quickly approaching as some players desperately need a good result.

Some big names have already withdrawn from the New York major, with Grigor Dimitrov now officially being replaced in the US Open draw.

It is not just the men’s singles draw where a seeded player has pulled out, with Paula Badosa and Qinwen Zheng also withdrawing from the US Open.

While these players are not competing at the US Open this year, some others really need a good result after a difficult North American hard court swing.

Five players who really need a good result at the US Open this year

There are five players in particular that stand out as needing a good result at the US Open this year for various reasons.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Perhaps the most obvious of those is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has only won one of his last five matches.

Tsitsipas is a former world number three, but is currently on the brink of falling outside the top 30 for the first time since 2018.

It has not been an entirely bad season for the Greek, with Tsitsipas winning the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year, but he has failed to win more than two consecutive matches since then.

The 27-year-old’s Grand Slam form has been particularly concerning, with Tsitsipas winning just one match at his last four major tournaments.

Tsitsipas recently split from Goran Ivanisevic as his coach, and has now reappointed his father into that position.

This does not appear to have made any difference to his form, and Tsitsipas appears devoid of confidence heading into the US Open.

Daniil Medvedev

Someone who is in a similar position to Tsitsipas is Daniil Medvedev, despite being a Grand Slam champion and former world number one.

Medvedev is a former US Open champion and it is statistically his best major tournament, but his recent form suggests that he is very far away from competing for the New York major once again.

This was highlighted in his most recent match, where Medvedev was beaten by Adam Walton, who is the world number 85, at the Cincinnati Open.

Medvedev has gone from being one of the trickiest players on the ATP Tour to beat, to it now not being a surprise when he loses early in tournaments.

This is reflected in his lack of recent titles, with Medvedev winning his last title at the Italian Open in May 2023.

Casper Ruud

It has been a strange 2025 season for Casper Ruud, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid earlier this year.

However, Ruud has only won seven matches since then, which includes a shock second round loss at Roland Garros.

This recent drop-off in form has been due to a knee injury that Ruud has been struggling with and forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon.

Despite returning to the ATP Tour since, it appears that Ruud is still not over this injury and lost his only match at the Cincinnati Open.

Ruud still believes he can compete with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but he will need to change something at the US Open if that is to be the case.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula reached the US Open final last year, and has achieved some impressive results in 2025.

This includes winning three WTA titles and Pegula reaching the Miami Open final, but she has suffered some uncharacteristic losses as of late.

Beginning after her shock first round exit at Wimbledon, Pegula has not been happy with her tennis as this continued into the Canadian Open.

Pegula will be hoping that she can rediscover the same positive feelings from last year at the US Open when she returns to New York.

This now feels especially important, as Pegula has now confirmed when she will retire by, meaning that she could have a maximum of four US Opens left.

Naomi Osaka

You would think that reaching your biggest final in over three years would stand you in pretty good stead for the US Open, particularly if you are a two-time champion.

However, that does not feel like the case for Naomi Osaka, who has been on the end of a lot of backlash for what she did and didn’t say in her post-match speech after the Canadian Open final.

It is no secret that Osaka wears her heart on her sleeve, and this could potentially cause lasting damage to her career.

Opponents will now sense Osaka’s vulnerabilities more than ever, and she will need to try and put what happened in Montreal to the back of her mind.

Aside from that, this feels like Osaka’s big chance to have a deep run at a Grand Slam for the first time since she returned to the WTA Tour, especially as she will be seeded.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is unlikely to improve his form at the US Open

Despite their varying woes in recent times, four of these five players have at least reached the final of the US Open before.

The only player not to do this is Tsitsipas, and he has actually been nowhere near to the championship match in New York.

In his seven previous appearances at the US Open, Tsitsipas has only ever won six matches and has fallen at the first hurdle three times.

This was the case at the US Open last year, when Tsitsipas was beaten by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round.

For a player who has been ranked as high as world number three and has been in the final of a hard court major, Tsitsipas’ US Open record is desperately concerning.

If that is ever going to change, it feels as though this year is the least likely for that to happen.

Tsitsipas and the four other aforementioned players will all look to put their recent troubles behind them when the US Open main draw begins on Sunday, August 24.