Arthur Ashe

September 15, 1971: The day a US Open final ended in a tiebreak for the first time

Every day, Tennis Majors takes you back in time to the biggest moments in tennis history. On September 15, 1971, Stan Smith became the first player to win a Grand Slam in a final-set tiebreak

Alexandre Sokolowski

September 15, 2026

“Maybe the best player in the world this year”: Zverev makes it two majors in 2026, and only Alcaraz and Sinner beat him at one on the big stage

Alexander Zverev won the US Open on his first match point and did not appear to realise the match was over, six years after losing the same final from two sets up in an empty stadium. Beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 gives him a second Grand Slam title in the year he won his first, with only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner beating him at a major in 2026.

Cédric Rouquette

September 14, 2026

Ben Shelton and his grandma Regina Ann Shelton

“She’s the reason why”: Ben Shelton dedicates first Grand Slam final to grandmother

Ben Shelton dedicated his first Grand Slam final to the grandmother his family lost this year, saying that without her there would be no Ben Shelton. His father, who coaches him, explained why: a lower-middle-class household in Alabama, a sport nobody could afford, and a mother who found a way to pay for it anyway.

Cédric Rouquette

September 12, 2026

Zverev’s US Open final mission: “Not make the American dream come true”

Alexander Zverev is in the US Open final, knowing an American awaits and the crowd will be against him. The Roland-Garros champion, the only major winner left, aims for a second Grand Slam title and to prevent a 23-year American drought from ending.

Cédric Rouquette

September 12, 2026

Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, US Open 2024

Fifty-eight years after Ashe’s triumph, two Black Americans meet for a place in the US Open final

Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton qualified for the US Open semifinals on the 58th anniversary of Arthur Ashe's title, and will play each other on the court that bears his name for the right to be the first Black American man in the final since 1968. Coco Gauff, who reached the last four herself, put it plainly: "I never thought I would see an all-Black semifinal between the guys in my lifetime."

Cédric Rouquette

September 11, 2026