Beyond The Champions: 2025 US Open Winners and Losers

NEW YORK—There are many winners and losers at a Grand Slam beyond the finalists, too many to single out without omissions. So we’ll take an impressionistic approach to evaluating some of the more noteworthy developments or results as we close the book on the US Open of 2025.

Winner: The beating Amanda Anisimova took in the Wimbledon final, 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek, was a bitter pill for the resurgent 24-year old to swallow. But she bounced back in New York as if that pill also contained some magic ingredient. She joined semifinalist Jessica Pegula as one of the few U.S. women who went deep in the draw, and rose to a career-high ranking of No. 4.

Loser: With each passing Grand Slam event, it seems Alexander Zverev’s chances to win one seem to grow dimmer. Seeded No. 3, the perennial contender—the best active player yet to win a major; it’s not even close—lost in the third round to No. 25 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Sure, FAA was on a career run, but the Zverev jinx keeps swelling like an abscess.

Winner: The way eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz pulled away from 38-year old No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic in their semifinal bordered on depressing. On the other hand, the combative all-time Grand Slam singles champion reiterated that he is a once-in-many-lifetimes athlete and champion. Confounding critics and pundits, he completed the full set of major semifinals in 2025, rose back up to No. 4, and positioned himself for another year chasing the dream. No quit in this guy.

Loser: The American men had every reason to entertain grand ambitions going into this event, but No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz (a defending finalist) was the only one to make it even as far as the fourth round. He was ousted by Djokovic in a disappointing performance. No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe flamed—or was it flickered—out in round three, beaten by 35-year-old German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff. Tommy Paul, seeded 14th, was eliminated in the third round by No. 23 seed Alexander Bulik, while hard-charging Ben Shelton suffered a shoulder injury, forcing him to pull out during his third-round clash with Adrian Mannarino. Only two U.S. men came into the draw through qualifying, and they accounted for one win between them.

Winner: The USTA hit a home run with its reimagined Mixed Doubles Championship, which took place during the turbo-charged “Fan Week.” The week attracted 239,000 spectators, with the two-day Mixed Doubles pulling in 78,000—all of which helped push the total attendance mark to over 1,000,000. Sure, some missed the mellow vibe, modest crowds and quality viewing experience of Fan Weeks past, but those days are over.

Loser: People have been waiting for Holger Rune to punch through to the elite level for a few years now, but he continues to spin his wheels. He was seeded No. 11 but lost in the second round to qualifier Struff. Also disappointing: No. 20 Stefanos Tsitsipas. With his father back on board as coach, the beleaguered Greek star still faltered. Tsitsipas took it on the chin in the second round from No. 50 Daniel Altmaier, who threw in a few (perfectly legal) underarm serves during the fourth set. At the net after the German won, Tsitsipas suggested he had targeted Altmaier for his tactics: "Next time, don't wonder why I hit you, okay? No, I'm just saying if you serve underarm. . .” Soft, really soft.

Winner: Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime appeared to go away there for a few years, but he’s back with a bullet—of a server. He knocked off Zverev as well as tough out Alex de Minaur, before Sinner ended his quest in four entertaining sets in semis. What’s different now? “Well, a lot of things,” FAA said. “A lot of things. because obviously there's the level, like the way I'm serving, the way I hit the forehand, the way I'm moving around the court, the backhand too. . . I think on top of that it's just, yeah, the belief, the mentality, the conviction in myself that I have what it takes to win these types of matches.”

Winner: Naomi Osaka may have hit the long-awaited tipping point in her comeback effort, reaching a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open, with a statement (6-3, 6-1) win over No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round. Osaka, now 27 and the winner of four hard-court majors, gave a lot of credit to her new coach, veteran Tomasz Wiktorowski. “He's like always very proud and encouraging,” she said of him. “I feel like it kind of creates a safe space for me to, like, you know, be able to express myself and my tennis.”

Loser: With the exception of women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka, the unaffiliated women from Russia and Belarus (allies in the war of aggression on Ukraine) fared poorly. Only Ekaterina Alexandrova reached the fourth round, and their top player, No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva, was upset in round three by Taylor Townsend.

Winner: Speaking of Townsend, she had an epic if stormy two weeks. She won countless fans with the dignified way she handled the controversy after her win over No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko. Then she upset Andreeva, after which she lost a sensational match to Barbora Krejickova after being up a set—and failing to convert eight match points in a second set tiebreaker. Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Sam singles champion, won the third set 6-3. Paraphrasing her friend Ben Shelton, Townsend said: “There are people who are just now finding out who I am, who Taylor Townsend is. So this is their first interaction and observation of me. It's one that is, you know, hopefully positive.”

Winner: Japan’s Yui Kamiji rebounded from a 6-0 loss in the first set of the women’s Wheelchair final, and went on to win in three, thereby completing a career Grand Slam (she swept three of the four majors this year). Niels Vink of Nederlands won the men’s wheelchair singles.

Winner: The junior girls' singles was a cornucopia of surprises before No. 14 seed Jeline Vendromme of Belgium defeated qualifier Lea Nilsson of Sweden. The boys' event was more predictable, producing a brace of finalists from Bulgaria: Top-seeded Ivan Ivanov defeated No. 5 Alexander Vasilov for the trophy. Grigor Dimitrov, watch your back.

Winner: Starting with the Fan Week shootout, doubles got a remarkable shot in the arm. The tandem game hit new heights of fan appeal, and attendance, during this fortnight. In the women’s event, top seeds Townsend and Katerina Siniakova were upset in the final by No. 3 Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe. On the men’s side, No. 5 seed Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos put the wood to No. 6 Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski. Salisbury said after the final, “It (the singles star-studded Mixed Doubles event) got the fans engaged in watching more doubles. So I think for that part it was a good thing. For the event, the last sort of eight, nine days, I think it's been good. More fans were coming to watch.”

Winners: It would be remiss of us not to add Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. No explanation required.