US Open 2024: Who will play? Who will be missing? Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff want to defend their titles, Rafael Nadal cancels

The last Grand Slam of the tennis season is here.

At the US Open, the top stars of the ATP and WTA tours will fight for glory in New York from August 26 to September 8.

Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will return to Flushing Meadows to defend their titles, but who else will play and who will miss the tournament?

Djokovic needs one more Grand Slam title to break the tie with Margaret Court, the all-time record holder.

His best run in New York was reaching the quarterfinals in 2022.

There will be no Rafael Nadal at the US Open.

The four-time champion was on the list of participants, but withdrew after the Olympic Games.

“I have decided not to compete in this year’s US Open, a place where I have incredible memories,” said Nadal, whose next tournament will be the Laver Cup in late September.

Andy Murray will not return to the site of his first Grand Slam triumph in 2012.

Former world number one Murray retired from tennis after the Olympics and, according to his X-profile, now plays golf rather than tennis.

When will Nick Kyrgios return to the tennis court? This question remained unanswered for the last year.

This could be the start of his comeback, but he will not play in the US Open.

It has been four years since Dominic Thiem won the only Grand Slam title of his career at the US Open.

Thiem, whose form has slipped in recent years and who has failed to win two games in a row this season, has received a wildcard for the US Open.

Another former US Open winner will return to New York.

Stan Wawrinka is no longer ranked high enough to enter directly, but like Thiem he received a wildcard.

The 39-year-old defeated Djokovic and won the 2016 US Open.

World number one Iga Swiatek will lead the women’s field at the US Open.

Swiatek won the 2022 US Open, but lost in the fourth round last year.

Coco Gauff crowned a dream summer last year by winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Can she repeat her success? The 20-year-old has not had the best results so far this month, winning just one match at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

She hopes to return to her peak form in New York.

But the British number 2 has not taken part since then, neither in the qualifying for the Canadian Open nor in the qualifying for the Cincinnati Open.

Her ranking is high enough to secure her direct entry into the US Open, where she was a surprise winner in 2021.

Former world number one Osaka, who returned to the tour this season after giving birth, added that she would “promise myself to work as hard as I can and do my best”.

She will also play at the US Open after receiving a wildcard.

It is questionable whether former runner-up Ons Jabeur will compete in the US Open.

The 29-year-old has struggled with a recurring knee injury this season and missed Washington and Cincinnati due to shoulder problems after losing to Naomi Osaka in the first round in Toronto.

“Despite my efforts to recover in time, playing in Toronto has not benefited me. My current condition does not allow me to compete at the required level,” Jabeur said on social media.

Since her retirement was planned for the end of the season, Danielle Collins was hoping for a farewell run at her home Grand Slam.

After suffering heat stroke at the Paris Olympics, she had to withdraw from the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open due to injury.

She hopes to be healthy again in time to play in New York.