2026 US Open: Americans Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton poised to make history
The 2026 U.S. Open will feature a history-making men's final regardless of the outcome of Friday's semifinal matches.
Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are scheduled to play each other Friday night in the Grand Slam tournament's second men's semifinal.
The winner of of their match will become the first Black American man to reach a U.S. Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first Black American man to reach any Grand Slam singles final since 1996, according to the tournament.
No. 8-seeded Shelton and No. 11-seeded Tiafoe will play their historic semifinal match inside New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium, named for the late tennis icon in 2020 in recognition of his place in tennis history, including as the first Black male to win a major singles titles and the only Black man to have won three Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open).
Tiafoe, a son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, grew up playing tennis at a facility in Maryland, where his dad worked as a janitor. When he won the Association of Tennis Professionals' Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2020, Tiafoe reflected in a letter on what Ashe meant to him.
"Nothing you ever did was about you," the now-28-year-old wrote of Ashe, adding, "You were just trying to be a person first and an athlete second. It was always about helping others. That is truly inspirational."
Shelton grew up playing tennis in the footsteps of his own father and coach, Bryan Shelton, also a pro Black tennis player who reached a ranking of No. 55 in the world at his peak.
Bryan Shelton made history in 1991 as the first Black American man to win an ATP Tour singles title since Ashe in 1978, according to his ATP bio.
While competing at this year's U.S. Open, Coco Gauff, who lost Thursday in the women's singles semifinals, spoke about what it means to see Shelton and Tiafoe face-off on the sport's biggest U.S. stage.
"I never thought I would see, be able to have the chance to see an all-Black semifinal between the guys in my lifetime," Gauff told reporters this week. "Honestly, even growing up, just look at who was playing -- I just never thought that would be able to happen. And to have also me in the semis, I think it's really cool."
Shelton and Tiafoe have played each other at the U.S. Open twice before: Shelton won their match in the quarterfinals in 2023, while Tiafoe won their third-round match the following year, in 2024.
2024 was also the last year an American man reached the U.S. Open finals, with Taylor Fritz losing to Jannik Sinner in three sets.
Andy Roddick was the last American man to win the U.S. Open, taking home the title more than two decades ago in 2003.
This year's men's singles final will take place on Sunday, Sept. 13.
The 2026 U.S. Open is airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
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