It has been quite the year for tennis, and now we are at the final grand slam of 2022. Hosted in New York every year for almost a century, the U.S. Open is always a big event. 128 men and 128 women enter the main draw annually, but only one of each gender will emerge victorious. With all of these players, you never know what will happen. Take a look at last year’s winners: for the men, the winner was Daniil Medvedev. He was the No. 2 seed, so it shouldn’t have seemed that surprising on paper. Despite that, this was his first grand slam win after being in only one other final, and he was going up against No. 1 seed and three-time champion Novak Djokovic who was on his way to winning a calendar slam, winning all four grand slams in a year. So this was a pleasant surprise. The bigger surprise was Emma Radacanu on the women’s side. She was a qualifier who had only been in one grand slam and one other tour-level tournament in her career. To call her win unexpected would be an understatement. These wins show that anything can happen at the U.S. Open. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make some educated guesses and predictions. What will happen?

Let’s start with the men. There has not been a back-to-back winner for the men since 2008 when Roger Federer won five times in a row. That could change with Medvedev winning this year. He went through a bit of a slump this year, not winning a small tournament this month in Cabo. Note that at the time of writing, the Cincinnati Open has not happened, and that could be a boost. At the moment, it appears Medvedev is doing pretty well, but it is hard to say if he is at the level to repeat his success. I can say that Djokovic is not going to win, since he is unable to enter the United States because of his refusal to get a coronavirus vaccination, so he won’t even be in the tournament as per current restrictions. If we’re talking about a classic favorite to win, there is four-time champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal did not play last year because of a foot injury, but he came back this year in pretty good form, having won the Australian Open and the French Open this year. However, he withdrew from Wimbledon with an abdominal injury. He is better now and is able to play the U.S. Open, but that injury might have pushed him back a bit. He could still win, but it’s not such a sure thing.

So then let’s take a look at some great players that could have this tournament as their maiden slam. There is hotshot newcomer Carlos Alcaraz who is 19 years old. Despite his young age, he has already become the No. 4-ranked player in the world. He has won four tournaments this year and has been an overall beast. This could be his big moment to shine. There is also another young hotshot, 20-year-old Jannik Sinner. While Sinner started off less fiery compared to Alcaraz and has been plagued with some injuries, he has had some big moments at tournaments this year and has beaten or has gotten close to beating some top five players, including two recent wins over Alcaraz. This could be a tournament where he really proves his talents. Then there is someone like Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has had a fairly consistent year. He has a Masters 1000 title under his belt this year as well as making it to the semi-finals at the Australian Open. He has been in the top five for a while, and this could be the boost he needs to be recognized as one of the greats. And let’s not forget this year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Nick Kyrgios. The bad boy of tennis, he could be the best player in the world if he actually wanted to be. He has been having an amazing run lately, but you can never predict the ability of Kyrgios. This could be the year we see the extent of his abilities. There are so many other tennis players that have a shot as well. There are players like Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini who have made finals but are not particularly flashy and could use a big win for their careers. There are also some underdogs like Hubert Hurkacz and Felix Auger Alliasime who are top 10 players on paper but haven’t had a great tournament to be worthy of that title. We could also go out of the park with people like Alex De Minaur and Taylor Fritz who would be a little bit of a shock, but they have great potential and their wins wouldn’t be totally out of nowhere. It is anyone’s tournament and we could be facing an exciting two weeks.

Then there are the women. Despite Radacanu’s big win last year, she has not really been living up to expectations. She hasn’t won another tournament since then and she hasn’t made it that far in many other tournaments. So it is very unlikely she will repeat her success. The real favorite to win is Iga Swiatek, the current No. 1 player in the world. She went on a 37-match winning streak for a large part of this year, which included her winning her first grand slam at the French Open. Even though that streak is now broken, she is still on top of her game. This tournament could get her another Grand Slam win. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t count everyone else out. For example, there is Ons Jabeur who has a fairly successful year, including a final at Wimbledon. She has shown true talent and she will almost certainly get a grand slam under her belt in her career, why not now? Then there is the winner of Wimbledon, Elena Rybakina. She was seeded at the tournament, but she was seed No. 17, which is fairly low. It was certainly an unexpected win. She has proven herself, but it is difficult to say if she can keep that magic going. 

Then you have older multi-slam winners, like Simona Halep, who you can usually count on at a grand slam. She was injured for a bit, but she is back in high form. This would be her first grand slam in three years, and it could show that she is back to stay. On the other end, there are players that have never made it to a final but have had a terrific year. There is Jessica Pegula, who has made it to two grand slam semi-finals this year. She has been in great form lately at many tournaments. She made her top 10 debut this year and could live up to that achievement by getting a grand slam win. There is Paula Badosa who has really improved this year by getting far in many tournaments and making her top five debut. She hasn’t made it to a semi yet, but this could be the year she goes all the way. Finally, we can’t forget the young ones. Coco Gauff is just 18 years old, but she made her first Grand Slam final this year in the French Open and is just outside the top 10. It has been a long time since someone as young as her has won a grand slam, but she has the skills and the fieriness that could make it happen. In recent years, women’s tennis has been less predictable than men’s tennis, so truly anyone can win.

So what does all of this mean? It means that tennis is a wild sport. That’s one of the reasons why it’s my favorite sport. There have been moments in the sport where some players are absolutely dominating without anyone else getting a chance. There is now more variety in the sport and we have so many new players shining. From August 29 to September 12, we will get to see these players in action. Some people have a better chance than others, but everyone will be giving 200 percent effort in these weeks. This is the last big tournament of the year if you are not counting the year-end finals, and it always turns into a spectacle. So who do I think will win? I’m not going to put money on this, but my gut is saying Jannik Sinner for the men and Simona Halep for the women. I think they have each been doing well and they will absolutely shine in New York this year. Sinner has been showing a lot of promise lately and even though this might seem like an interesting pick, he can power through. Halep has made it through Grand Slams before and with her win last week in Montreal, I think she is going through a hot streak. With all of that being said, I do believe that everyone else I mentioned has a true shot. Not to mention that I have not seen the draws yet and we could get matchups that completely change my opinions. My predictions will constantly change, I know that. So don’t forget to tune into some epic matches in these upcoming weeks, up until the trophies are lifted into the air.