The final Grand Slam of the year has already delivered one of the biggest shocks in its recent history. Novak Djokovic, seeded fourth and still chasing a record 25th major title, was stunned in the first round by Argentina's Mariano Navone, losing a gruelling five-setter 6-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 1-6. The defeat ended Djokovic's remarkable streak of 78 consecutive opening-round wins at Grand Slams — his earliest exit at the US Open in two decades — with the 39-year-old visibly battling dehydration and back problems throughout the four-hour, 36-minute battle.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner remains absent from the tournament entirely after withdrawing with a right knee injury, handing the top seed to Alexander Zverev. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returned from a four-month wrist injury layoff as the No. 2 seed, having played no warm-up events. With Djokovic already out and Sinner missing, the men's draw has been blown wide open before the tournament is even a day old.

The women's draw remains on course for a genuine four-way battle for the World No. 1 ranking, with Aryna Sabalenka chasing a third consecutive title that would make her the first woman to complete a US Open three-peat since Serena Williams (2012–2014), alongside Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and 2023 champion Coco Gauff.

One name arrives with genuine momentum: Arthur Fils. The Frenchman claimed the biggest title of his career at the Cincinnati Open the weekend before the Open began, coming from a set down to beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in a wild final — his first ATP Masters 1000 title. What makes his win particularly notable is recent history: the last three Cincinnati champions have gone on to win the US Open in the same year — Novak Djokovic in 2023, Jannik Sinner in 2024, and Carlos Alcaraz in 2025. With Djokovic already gone, all eyes turn to whether the 21st-seeded Fils can extend that remarkable streak to four.

Tournament Runs: Now underway, concluding Sunday, 13 September · Women's Final: Saturday, 12 September · Men's Final: Sunday, 13 September · USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York

Monday night brings a genuine double-header for fans of two of the continent's biggest clubs. In England, defending Premier League champions Arsenal travel to Aston Villa to close out Matchweek 2. Villa's new season could not have got off to a worse start — they were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton on the opening weekend, with a Maxim De Cuyper strike, a Jack Hinshelwood brace and a Victor Lindelöf own goal doing the damage — and Unai Emery's side will be desperate to bounce back in front of their own supporters against Mikel Arteta's champions. New signings Nicolas Jackson and Leon Goretzka have both been registered in time to feature.

Simultaneously in Spain, Barcelona host Rayo Vallecano at the Spotify Camp Nou for their La Liga Matchday 3 fixture. Hansi Flick's side have made the perfect start to their delayed campaign — a 5-0 demolition of Elche followed by a controlled 2-0 win over Athletic Club — leaving them with six points from six, seven goals scored and none conceded. Rayo, by contrast, are still searching for their first win after a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla and a 1-1 draw with Alavés, making Barça heavy favourites to make it three from three.

With both fixtures kicking off within 90 minutes of each other, Monday night offers a genuine two-match slate for anyone looking to combine markets across two of Europe's great institutions.

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal: Monday, 31 August at 21:00 CEST · Villa Park
Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano: Monday, 31 August at 21:30 CEST · Spotify Camp Nou

Basketball's road to the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar has delivered a dramatic weekend of results. Victor Wembanyama starred in both of France's games in this window — 22 points and nine rebounds in a 92-67 win over Doncic-less Slovenia, followed by 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as France beat Sweden 84-69 in Stockholm, overturning a late 65-64 deficit with a decisive 20-4 closing run in front of a record home crowd of 14,750. The result moves France to 7-1 and top of Group L — and it was Wembanyama's last appearance of the window, with the Spurs star unavailable again until the November qualifying window.

Defending world champions Germany survived a huge scare against previously undefeated Poland, needing overtime and 18 points and five assists from Dennis Schröder to escape with a 96-94 win — handing Poland their first defeat of the qualifying campaign. Elsewhere in Europe, Croatia edged the Netherlands 101-99 behind Ivica Zubac's 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Sweden had earlier beaten Finland 86-81 courtesy of a 31-point outburst from Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson.

The window has been notable for the sheer number of NBA stars sitting out — Luka Dončić (Slovenia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Alperen Şengün (Turkey), Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania) and Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia) among them — while Nikola Jokić and Wembanyama both chose to represent their countries. Elsewhere, results also swung across Africa and Asia — Nigeria beat Cape Verde 100-84 behind Josh Okogie's 15 points, eight rebounds, ten assists and four steals, while China's Yang Hansen put up 15 points and nine rebounds in an 83-57 win over Qatar. Across the Atlantic, the USA — fielding a squad of former NBA and G League players under coach Terry Stotts — improved to 6-1 in Group E with a win over Chile in Santiago, and now face Colombia in Washington, D.C. on Monday to close out the window.

Monday closes out the European window with two of the standout ties of the round. In Group K, second-placed Italy (5-1) host third-placed Serbia (4-2) in Bologna, with both sides chasing unbeaten leaders Turkey (6-0) at the top of the group. And in Group I, Spain — third in the group at 5-1 — travel to face a struggling Greece side that has now lost three qualifiers in a row, most recently 82-76 to Ukraine, with Spain installed as clear favourites to extend their winning run.

Selected fixtures, Monday 31 August: Italy vs. Serbia, 19:30 CEST (Bologna) · Greece vs. Spain, 21:30 CEST (Athens) · USA vs. Colombia (Washington, D.C.) — the final games of the fourth qualifying window before action resumes in November.