Who are the US Open past winners? Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz and more

Reigning US Open champ Jannik Sinner is heading back to Arthur Ashe Stadium with one goal: defend his crown. The current World No. 1 and fresh off a Wimbledon win star is riding high, and all eyes are on him as the final Grand Slam of the year gets underway. With Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz splitting the first three Slams of 2025, fans are hyped to see if the “New Two” can complete a clean sweep, and maybe even settle the score, with Alcaraz eyeing revenge for that tough Wimbledon loss.

Aryna Sabalenka is rolling into the US Open with a big target on her back and a serious shot at going back-to-back. As the defending champ and current World No. 1, she’s been unstoppable this season, making it to at least the semis at every Slam and finishing runner-up in both Australia and Paris. 

She’s got plenty of company at the top, with Iga Swiatek fresh off her Wimbledon win and already the proud owner of six Grand Slam titles, ready to crash the party. It’s going to be a wild ride in the women’s draw this year.

A career golden slam for the Serbian has been secured following his win over Carlos Alcaraz in the gold-medal match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and the most successful men’s tennis star of the Open Era will be back to try and extend his record this time again. Djokovic has enjoyed four wins here, but perhaps none sweeter than his first, when he defeated Rafael Nadal in a 6–2 6–4 6–7 (3–7) 6–1 contest in 2011.

At one point the golden girl of rising tennis stars, Gauff broke onto the scene when she defeated Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019 and reached the fourth round. But she arguably did not realize her potential until she went all the way at Flushing Meadows last year for a first career major title, aged just 19, as she came from behind to defeat Aryna Sabalenka in a taut 2–6 6–3 6–2 encounter.

The Spaniard is barely into his twenties and yet already has four grand slam titles to his name, including the US Open. In 2022, Alcaraz saw off a fightback from Casper Ruud, winning 6–4 2–6 7–6 (7–1) 6–3 for his first major. While he has since added three more, he will be among the favorites to pick up another success when he takes to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium later this year.

A bronze-medal finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games won’t have deterred the Pole as she heads back across the Atlantic looking for a sixth career grand slam title. Four of her successes have come at the French Open, but Swiatek’s lone win across the other three saw her take victory against Ons Jabeur in straight sets in 2022, though she did need a tiebreaker finish in the second set with her 6–2 7–6 (7–5) win.

The Russian star is currently playing without a nation owing to sanctions against his country following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, he picked up his lone grand slam win when he saw off Novak Djokovic in straight sets the year before, running out as the victor in a 6–4 6–4 6–4 triumph. Two years later though, he would be unable to get over the Serbian star a second time around, coming up short in the 2023 final.

Great Britain had waited generations for a new female star to step up when Emma Raducanu embarked on a scintillating run at Wimbledon. However, few expected her to go all the way when she appeared at the 2021 US Open a few months later. Instead, she became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a major title when she defeated Leylah Fernandez in a 6–4 6–3 triumph without dropping a set along the way.

When he arrived at Flushing Meadows in 2020, the Austrian had already reached a trio of grand slam finals, with another two ATP Finals appearances under his belt too. But victory had eluded him in all until he squared off with Alexander Zverev. Despite losing the first two sets to the German, Thiem delivered one of the all-time great US Open comebacks to win 2–6 4–6 6–4 6–3 7–6 (8–6) and make history.

The Spaniard was unable to win a medal in his farewell at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it remains unknown whether he will feature at the 2024 US Open. But Nadal will leave as one of the event’s most decorated superstars, securing four triumphs over the course of a decade between 2010 and 2019, notching victories over Novak Djokovic, Kevin Anderson, and Daniil Medvedev.

The first Japanese star to win a singles title at a grand slam in the Open Era, Osaka notched two victories in three years at Flushing Meadows, including a straight sets victory over Serena Williams in 2018, her first ever major. The game was not without controversy between Williams and umpire Carlos Ramos, but Osaka played superb tennis and returned two years later to defeat Victoria Azarenka for a second triumph.

Frequently noted as an alternative pick against Andy Murray in discussions over the Big Four, the Swiss star never enjoyed the wider tournament success that the Briton did, but his three grand slam successes nevertheless tie him in many estimations. The last of those came when Wawrinka defeated Novak Djokovic, overturning a first-set loss to win 6–7 (1–7) 6–4 7–5 6–3 against the Serbian superstar.

The Canadian headed into the 2019 US Open as something of an outsider, given the quality of opponents in her path - but teenager Andreescu instead went all the way and denied Serena Williams in a second successive final for the latter, following her loss to Naomi Osaka. A straight sets result, running out the winner with a 6–3 7–5 scoreline, has not yet been bettered in her professional career.

The Croatian star has reached the final round in three out of four majors and was the silver-medal victor at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in men’s doubles. But Cillic’s biggest win came when he triumphed at the 2014 US Open, seeing off Japan’s Kei Nishikori with a 6–3 6–3 6–3 straight sets victory to earn his first and only grand slam crown to date. He was also part of his nation’s 2018 Davis Cup-winning team.

The American delivered her one and only grand slam crown when she took to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2017, defeating Madison Keys in straight sets with a fantastic 6–3 6–0 performance. Stephens reached third in the WTA Rankings the following year but has not quite recaptured that excellent form since having only reached the final of the French Open in 2018.

In the wake of the Scotsman’s retirement following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this year, it is only right to remember a year that changed everything. Murray may have never lived up to the rest of the Big Four in terms of titles, with his place among them slipping further away - but when he defeated defending champion Djokovic in a 7–6 (12–10) 7–5 2–6 3–6 6–2 thriller for his first major, he wrote himself into history.