US Open qualifying began today, August 24, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center — four days of tennis in Flushing Meadows that most fans never watch, but that decide who gets a shot at the year's final Grand Slam. Here's how the qualifying tournament works, what it actually pays, and the women worth following before the main draw even starts.
How US Open qualifying works
Each of the men's and women's qualifying draws holds 128 players, split into 16 sections of eight. Every section plays down to one winner across three rounds of best-of-three-set matches — round one on Monday, round two on Tuesday, and the final qualifying round on Wednesday and Thursday. Win your section outright — three matches in four days — and you're through: 16 qualifiers per gender earn a spot in the 128-player main draw that starts the following week.
What qualifying actually pays
One of the biggest myths about tennis is that only main-draw players get paid. In reality, the 2026 US Open — which raised its total player compensation to a record $108 million — pays every qualifying round:
| Stage | Payout (per player) |
|---|---|
| Qualifying Round 1 | $32,000 |
| Qualifying Round 2 | $48,000 |
| Qualifying Round 3 (Final Qualifying) | $66,000 |
| Qualifies for Main Draw | $140,000+ (main draw first-round rate) |
A player who loses in straight sets on day one still leaves New York with $32,000 before tax and expenses — a real financial backstop for the players ranked just outside the top 100.
Standout women in the 2026 qualifying draw
This year's field is stacked with storylines. Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, is playing qualifying for the first time since 2018 as she works her way back from years of injury — she's already banked two ITF titles this season. Zheng Qinwen, a former world No. 4 and the 2024 Australian Open runner-up, is making just her second career Grand Slam qualifying appearance as she returns from elbow surgery. Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, is another former major winner grinding through qualifying this week.
The field's breakout name might be Kristina Liutova, a 16-year-old from Seattle who won a tour-level title in her main-tour debut in Memphis and became just the tenth player in WTA history to pull that off — now the youngest player in the direct-entry qualifying draw. Also worth tracking: Robin Montgomery, back from a nine-month wrist injury after winning a title in 's-Hertogenbosch, and former Grand Slam semifinalists Nadia Podoroska and Tamara Zidansek, both looking to rediscover the form that once carried them deep into majors.
By Thursday, 16 women will have punched their ticket into the US Open main draw — and for a handful of them, this week in qualifying will be the start of the best story of the tournament.
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