US Open predictions and expert picks for tournament's quarterfinal round

The 2026 US Open reaches the quarterfinals having delivered everything tennis fans could ask for: dramatic upsets, breakout performances and championship-caliber battles under the lights in New York. Now, with the tournament entering its final stages, attention turns to the biggest question of all: Who will leave Flushing Meadows with a Grand Slam title? From tournament favorites and proven champions to dangerous dark horses capable of bigger surprises, our experts give their takes on the men's and women's draws with predictions of the quarterfinal round: US Open predictions in women's quarterfinals There is no reason to get away from previous predictions: Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula will be in the semifinals. Pegula will dispatch fellow American Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals to set up a date with current Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in the semfinals. Noskova will knock out two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and be partly responsible for Sabalenka losing her No. 1 ranking. Coco Gauff, meanwhile, will prevail against Mirra Andreeva in a battle of the past two French Open champions, setting up a semifinal match against newly top-ranked Elena Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion. Aryna Sabalenka hasn't dropped a set yet in this tournament, but that streak – and her chance at a U.S. Open three-peat – will end when she loses to this year's Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova. Noskova, as she often does, will come out strong in the first set and lose the second set before bouncing back to defeat Sabalenka and clinch a spot in the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time in her career. In more bad news for Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina will take over the No. 1 ranking from Sabalenka when she reaches the semifinals by dispatching Qinwen Zhang. Meanwhile, the two highest ranked American women will both reach the semis as world No. 3 Jessica Pegula takes care of Emma Navarro and world No. 4 Coco Gauff remains undefeated against Mirra Andreeva in their sixth meeting. US Open predictions in men's quarterfinals Since the men's draw is more unpredictable, with only three of the 10 seeds making the fourth round, two-time US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz (2022, 2025) is the pick here over Ben Shelton. U.S. fans will still have an American contender, though, as Frances Tiafoe reaches his third US Open semifinal (2022, 2024) after ending Alex Michelsen's longshot bid. On the other side of the draw, No. 1 Alexander Zverev will continue to cruise, dispatching an exhausted Botic van de Zandschulp, who needed five sets and three tiebreakers Monday to even reach the quarterfinals. Unseeded Karen Khachanov will notch another upset, taking down No. 28 Alexander Blockx, to set up a semifinal clash with Zverev. Although Ben Shelton has looked like the strongest American contender on the men's side, he won't get past the unflappable defending U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, who has never dropped a set to Shelton in two previous hard-court meetings. But Alcarez will face another American in the semifinals after Frances Tiafoe ends Alex Michelsen's Cinderella run. No. 1 seed and late-night session king Alexander Zverev will outlast giant slayer Botic van de Zandschulp. Belgian Alexander Blockx will attempt to battle through his rib injury but ultimately succumb to Karen Khachanov, who will reach his third major semifinal (2022 U.S. Open, 2023 Australian Open). US Open quarterfinal bracket