German football's top flight finally gets underway this weekend, its latest-ever start delayed a full week because of the World Cup. Bayern Munich open the defence of their 34th domestic title on Friday night at the Allianz Arena against VfB Stuttgart — a repeat of the exact fixture that clinched Bayern's title with a 4-2 win on the final day of last season, giving Stuttgart an immediate chance at revenge in front of the champions' own crowd.

Saturday brings six matches across the afternoon and evening. Union Berlin host Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig welcome Borussia Mönchengladbach in the early kick-offs, alongside Mainz vs. newly promoted SC Paderborn, 1. FC Köln vs. Hoffenheim and SV Elversberg's own top-flight bow at home to Bayer Leverkusen. The evening slot belongs to Borussia Dortmund welcoming Hamburg to Signal Iduna Park — a full house and a raucous Yellow Wall guaranteed for Dortmund's first competitive test of the season, just days after their 2-1 Franz Beckenbauer Supercup defeat to Bayern, where Nathaniel Brown and Michael Olise struck either side of a Fabio Silva reply. RB Leipzig, meanwhile, have been busy in the market, bringing in Christopher Nkunku on a season-long loan from AC Milan in the hope of recapturing the form that made him Bundesliga top scorer back in 2022/23.

Sunday closes out the round with newly promoted Schalke 04 — back in the top flight after their long spell away — travelling to Augsburg, while Freiburg host Werder Bremen in the early Sunday fixture. With three freshly promoted sides (Schalke, SV Elversberg, SC Paderborn) all looking to establish themselves and last season's relegated clubs — Wolfsburg, Heidenheim and St. Pauli — dropping down to rebuild, this opening weekend carries plenty of intrigue beyond the usual battle at the top.

Fri 28 Aug, 20:30 CEST: Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart
Sat 29 Aug, 15:30 CEST: RB Leipzig vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Sat 29 Aug, 15:30 CEST: Mainz 05 vs. SC Paderborn 07
Sat 29 Aug, 15:30 CEST: Union Berlin vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Sat 29 Aug, 15:30 CEST: 1. FC Köln vs. TSG Hoffenheim
Sat 29 Aug, 15:30 CEST: SV Elversberg vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Sat 29 Aug, 18:30 CEST: Borussia Dortmund vs. Hamburger SV
Sun 30 Aug, 13:30 CEST: Freiburg vs. Werder Bremen
Sun 30 Aug, 15:30 CEST: Augsburg vs. Schalke 04

Beyond Germany, several more of the continent's giants are in action with genuine intrigue attached. In La Liga, Real Madrid finally settle into a normal weekend rhythm as they host newly promoted Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday — their third fixture in just eight days after a hectic run of rearranged matches following Spain's World Cup triumph. Off the back of wins over Espanyol and Real Sociedad, José Mourinho's side will be strong favourites to make it three from three as they settle into their delayed campaign.

In France, reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain — who also reached last season's Champions League final, only to lose on penalties to Arsenal — travel to Lille on Friday night for their second match of the new campaign, having opened with a home win over Rennes. Luis Enrique's side will be without the suspended Nuno Mendes, while Lille arrive full of confidence after a 2-0 opening win at Angers, giving this genuine potential to be one of the weekend's most competitive fixtures.

Italy's Serie A also enters its second round, with reigning champions Inter Milan travelling to Cagliari on Saturday — a tricky early test for Cristian Chivu's side, who beat newly promoted Monza on the opening weekend and will be targeting back-to-back Scudetti for the first time since 2008-09. And in England, the standout Premier League fixture of the round closes out the weekend on Monday night, as defending champions Arsenal travel to Aston Villa — a side that thrashed their own opening-day opponents 4-0 and will provide a stern early test of Mikel Arteta's title credentials.

Lille vs. Paris Saint-Germain: Friday, 28 August at 20:45 CEST · Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Cagliari vs. Inter Milan: Saturday, 29 August · Unipol Domus
Real Madrid vs. Málaga: Sunday, 30 August at 17:00 CEST · Santiago Bernabéu
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal: Monday, 31 August at 21:00 CEST · Villa Park

Tennis's season-ending Grand Slam gets underway this weekend, and both draws are missing their biggest stars in different ways. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew with a right knee injury, handing the top seed to Alexander Zverev, who opens against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returns from a four-month wrist injury layoff as the No. 2 seed, having played no warm-up events — his first-round test against Roman Safiullin will be his first competitive singles match since April. Novak Djokovic, seeded fourth and chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title, opens against Argentina's Mariano Navone, though his build-up has been complicated by a health scare during the Cincinnati Open.

The women's draw is set up for a genuine four-way battle for the World No. 1 ranking. Aryna Sabalenka enters as top seed and two-time defending champion, chasing a third consecutive title that would make her the first woman to complete a US Open three-peat since Serena Williams (2012–2014); she opens against Camila Osorio. Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff — the 2023 champion, who opens against Zeynep Sönmez — complete the top four and all have a path to the top ranking depending on how the fortnight unfolds.

With Sinner absent and both Alcaraz and Djokovic carrying question marks over form and fitness, the men's draw is as open as it has been in years — while the women's draw offers one of the most compelling ranking battles the tournament has seen in a decade.

One name arrives with genuine momentum: Arthur Fils. The Frenchman claimed the biggest title of his career at the Cincinnati Open last weekend, 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, ending a 12-year wait for a French champion at that level, and making him, at 22, the youngest French Masters 1000 winner in history. What makes Fils's win particularly notable heading into Flushing Meadows 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. Whether the 21st-seeded Fils can extend that remarkable streak to four will be one of the biggest storylines of the fortnight.

Main Draw Begins: Sunday, 30 August · Women's Final: Saturday, 12 September · Men's Final: Sunday, 13 September · USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York