Rain hit the US Open again Tuesday, forcing a third straight day of delays as the tournament races to finish first-round singles.
With outer courts sitting empty and only Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums playing under their roofs, organizers are staring down a growing backlog with more storms forecast through Thursday.
Weather.com radar showed rain continuing until about 12:35 p.m. ET, but with another storm moving in right behind the first one, covering the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center starting at approximately 1:20 p.m.
Rain would then continue with only brief, intermittent breaks until around 5:20 p.m., the radar shows, making the prospects for matches on the outer courts appear grim for Tuesday.
Showers moved across Flushing Meadows around 11 a.m. ET, and matches on every court besides the two roofed stadiums were held until at least noon local time, according to a live update from edgeAIapp.
But as rain continued to beat down on the uncovered outer courts, edgeAI revised its prediction to, “No play before 1:30 p.m. local time. Forecast doesn’t look good today.”
Madison Keys and Alina Korneeva went ahead on Ashe as scheduled, while Francisco Comesana and Flavio Cobolli opened play on Armstrong under a closed roof. Mirra Andreeva and Janice Tjen followed on Armstrong, and Fritz was next behind Keys on Ashe.
Three Days of Delays Reshape the Draw
The pattern started Sunday, when rain stopped outer-court play around 8 p.m. and pushed seven matches to Monday. Armstrong’s roof also stalled that night, delaying the Bublik-Wolf match before it could get moving. Four-time champion Novak Djokovic’s stunning loss to Mariano Navone happened under a closed roof rather than open sky, according to weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.
Monday brought more of the same. Storms returned in the late afternoon and again close to 9 p.m., suspending several late matches overnight, including Grigor Dimitrov’s clash with Alexei Popyrin, which sat at two sets apiece when the tarps came out, according to EssentiallySports. Carlos Alcaraz, who advanced past Roman Safiullin on Monday, called the Djokovic result “a big surprise” afterward, as quoted by the ATP Tour’s coverage of the opening rounds.
Tuesday’s waiting list stacked up fast. Elena Rybakina, Belinda Bencic and Maria Sakkari were among the names left checking the skies on the outer courts, alongside Filip Misolic, Francisco Cerundolo and half a dozen other first-round pairings still needing a court.
Weather Outlook Threatens the Favorites’ Night Session
The forecast for Flushing Meadows today calls for mostly cloudy skies, a slight chance of early showers and a real chance of thunderstorms by afternoon, with highs in the mid-80s and a 40 percent rain chance, according to WillyWeather’s local forecast for Northern Queens. Storms build into the evening, and the rain probability jumps to 90 percent overnight, with some thunderstorms capable of turning severe.
Meteorologist Mike Woods projected the heaviest window between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., warning of potential flash flooding, damaging wind, large hail and even an isolated tornado, according to FOX 5 New York. That timing lands squarely on the night session, where top seed Alexander Zverev faces Lorenzo Sonego and Gauff opens against Sonmez, both not before 7 p.m. on Ashe. Armstrong’s night session carries similar risk, with Gael Monfils and Mary Stoiana both scheduled to play after 7 p.m. under the same threatening sky.
While matches at Arthur Ashe are played under a roof, spectators could have a hazardous trip out to Flushing Meadows, possibly causing a match delay even indoors.
The storm system tracking through the region Tuesday is part of a broader three-day stretch of unsettled weather, with the National Weather Service flagging another flash-flood risk overnight Wednesday and a second round of severe storms possible Thursday before conditions finally calm down.
Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American man left in the draw, is scheduled for Ashe’s day session against countryman Darwin Blanch, giving him a roof and a buffer most of the field won’t have. Weather.com forecasts the thunderstorm threat lingering into Thursday before cooler, drier conditions arrive for the Labor Day weekend, with highs settling into the 70s and far lower humidity.
Until then, the outer-court backlog keeps growing, and the tournament’s ability to complete the first round hinges on whatever breaks the sky gives it.
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