2026 US Open: College Players Dominating Singles Draw

Tempe, AZ – The college pipeline isn’t just alive on tour. It is roaring into New York.

The 2026 US Open men’s and women’s singles draws have dropped, and once again they underline a trend that has reshaped the professional game: if you want to find Top 100 players, start on campus.

Across both singles events, more than 30 current and former college players have booked their spots in the main draw. The women’s field leads the charge. Thirteen players with college ties will line up in Queens, the highest number in the Open Era for the US Open and a new benchmark for the women’s game. The men are not far behind: 22 players with college backgrounds feature in the draw, matching the record set just last year in 2025 for the most in the past decade.

This isn’t a story of wildcards making up the numbers. The college contingent has been cutting deep into the biggest events on the calendar.

For the first time this century, a former college player has reached at least the quarterfinals at each of the first three Grand Slams of the season. At the Australian Open, Learner Tien and Ben Shelton carried the flag. At Roland Garros, Rafa Jodar pushed through. At Wimbledon, Arthur Fery joined the list. Three majors, three surfaces, one clear message: the college route now consistently produces players ready to handle the sport’s most pressurized stages.

As the 2026 US Open approaches, that momentum doesn’t just continue; it accelerates. The draw confirms what results have been hinting at all year: college tennis has become the most reliable pathway to the Top 100, and the numbers in New York are only the latest proof.

Below sits the full roll call of college products and collegians stepping into the US Open spotlight, each of them another data point in a shift that no one in the sport can afford to ignore.