Why is the U.S. Open Delayed Tonight? When Will Matches Start Again?

August 31, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

The U.S. Open was hit by delays Sunday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, disrupting the Day One schedule and leaving multiple matches suspended or postponed. Getty

Rain swept through Flushing Meadows Sunday night, suspending matches on every uncovered court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

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Heavier showers moved in around 8:11 p.m. ET, with the tournament’s largest night-session crowd already settled in for Novak Djokovic’s opener, leaving fans on the outer grounds waiting out an uncertain delay. The break came just minutes after the same account had described only light rain and players still competing, a fast shift that caught grounds crews off guard.

Players walked off the Grandstand and the field courts as the rain intensified Sunday evening, according to tennis analytics account edgeAIapp. Organizers estimated play would stay halted for 40 to 60 minutes, though outdoor delays at the US Open routinely stretch longer once storms settle over Queens.

What the Forecast Means for Monday

The National Weather Service gave Sunday night a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m., with a low around 70 degrees and southwest wind near 6 mph easing off after midnight, according to the agency’s latest Flushing Meadows forecast. Monday’s outlook clears considerably, with only a 20 percent shower chance before 5 p.m. and a high near 82.

That timeline matters most for the outdoor first-round matches still stuck mid-delay. Short breaks in the rain typically let officials resume within hours, but the US Open has pushed entire days of outer-court tennis when storms linger, a scenario that would bump Sunday’s leftovers into Monday’s already-loaded schedule.

The delay arrives with several favorites already reshaping the draw. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew before the tournament with a knee injury, elevating Alexander Zverev to the top seed, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returned from a four-month layoff for a wrist problem. None of those matches were affected Sunday. The rain hit hardest on the depth of the draw, the outer-court grinders whose first-round matches now wait on a New York sky that has not fully cleared.

Which US Open Matches Got Stopped by Rain

The suspended card included Thiago Tirante against Adrian Mannarino, Aleksandar Vukic facing Rei Sakamoto, Sebastian Gorzny opposite Raphael Collignon, Martin Landaluce versus Jacob Fearnley and Alex Michelsen taking on Federico Cinà. On the women’s side, Emma Navarro’s match against Loïs Boisson and Kimberly Birrell’s meeting with Petra Marčinko both went dark, with Navarro-Boisson already delayed into a not-before slot before the storm hit.

Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium both carry retractable roofs, engineered specifically to keep the tournament’s showcase courts dry, and neither has stopped for weather all night. Djokovic’s match against Mariano Navone continued on Ashe, with Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin still lined up to follow. Armstrong kept rolling too, with Elina Svitolina against Solana Sierra and Alexander Bublik facing J.J. Wolf both proceeding under cover, according to the tournament’s official opening day order of play. Ashe’s roof went up in 2016, Armstrong’s in 2018 during a full stadium rebuild, and both have made rain delays on those two courts largely a thing of the past.

The gap between the covered and uncovered draw has rarely looked sharper than it did Sunday night. Fans holding Ashe tickets watched a full, uninterrupted slate. Grounds pass holders camped out on Court 5 or Court 11 got tarps, rain jackets and a long wait for the skies to cooperate.