Cincinnati Open 2026: What to Watch as the Main Draw Begins

The Cincinnati Open main draw begins on Thursday 13 August, and the defending men’s champion will not be there. Carlos Alcaraz withdrew on 4 August with the wrist injury that has kept him out since April, leaving Jannik Sinner as a clear favourite and turning the last big hard-court tournament before the US Open into a very different event from the one that was drawn up.

The Format

Both singles draws hold 96 players at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, with the top 32 seeds byed into the second round. Qualifying ran on 11 and 12 August, the draw was made on Tuesday, and the singles finals are on 23 August. It is an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 combined event, and the field carries ten Grand Slam champions, five of them past Cincinnati winners.

Men: Sinner Without a Hard-Court Match

Sinner skipped the Canadian Open deliberately to arrive fresh here and in New York, which is both his advantage and the case against him — he comes in with no hard-court match behind him. Novak Djokovic, who also sat out Montreal, plays here for the first time since winning the title in 2023. Alexander Zverev arrives needing a reset after losing in the Montreal second round as top seed.

Watch for whoever comes out of Montreal with miles in their legs. Ben Shelton and Learner Tien meet in a National Bank Open semi-final overnight, with the final on Friday. Whoever goes deepest there lands in Ohio with a long run behind them and barely a day of rest.

Women: Świątek Defends, and Draws Rybakina

Iga Świątek is the defending champion and is seeded seventh, which has produced the most awkward section of the draw: she is in the same quarter as second seed Elena Rybakina, and the two are projected to meet in the last eight. One of them will go out a round earlier than the seedings imply.

The rest breaks down cleanly. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads a first quarter also holding Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Coco Gauff heads the second with Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk. Jessica Pegula anchors the third alongside Linda Nosková and Amanda Anisimova.

One name to check before the first ball: Belinda Bencic is seeded twelfth but withdrew from her Toronto quarter-final against Gauff with a hip injury.

How to Watch

In the UK the Cincinnati Open is live on Sky Sports Tennis and NOW across both the men’s and women’s events. Our how to watch guide has the full schedule.

More Cincinnati Open Coverage

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