10 top 10 seeds failed to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year across the men’s and women’s singles draws.
The question now is, can those players bounce back at the US Open?
Who is the best hard-court player in tennis today?
The US Open is right around the corner…
Here are five players who struggled at Wimbledon that could challenge for the final Grand Slam of the year.
Five players who could bounce back at the US Open
Elena Rybakina
When Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open in January, many tipped her to win another Grand Slam shortly after.
But the Kazakhstani failed to impress at the French Open and Wimbledon, winning just three matches across the two events.
Her third-round exit at Wimbledon was particularly disappointing, given she had won the event four years earlier.
Luckily for Rybakina, the next Grand Slam is on hard courts, the surface on which she won a major title six months ago.
If the 27-year-old can rediscover the form she showed down under earlier this year, there’s no reason why she can’t challenge for the US Open title.
Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton was the only top 10 seed at the Wimbledon men’s singles event to lose in the first round this year.
Travelling to London in good form, having won the Stuttgart Open, Shelton looked primed to make a deep run at SW19, especially after he was placed in the opposite half of the draw from the two title favourites, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.
But it wasn’t to be for the young American, as he lost a five-set thriller, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 6-7 (9-11) to Finland’s Otto Virtanen.
When he returns to Grand Slam action, he will do so on home soil, at the US Open.
Shelton wasn’t able to produce his best tennis in New York last year, suffering an injury during his third-round match against Adrian Mannarino.
With the crowd cheering him on, a fit Shelton could be worth keeping an eye on this time around.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka remarkably finds herself in the same position as last year.
She’s the world number one and clearly the best player in the women’s game, but heading into the US Open, she hasn’t won any of the year’s first three Grand Slam events.
Sabalenka lost to Rybakina in the Australian Open final, to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals, and to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
The good news for the Belarusian is that she did win the US Open from this position a year ago.
And she will return to Flushing Meadows in 2026 as the two-time defending champion and tournament favourite.
It’s far from a foregone conclusion that she will win the title, but there’s certainly reason to believe that Sabalenka will become a three-time US Open winner in September.
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev is in better form now than he was last year.
But unfortunately for Medvedev, that form hasn’t translated to the Grand Slam events.
The Russian hasn’t reached the quarter-finals of a major since the 2024 US Open, as he continues to falter on the biggest of stages.
His Wimbledon exit was disappointing, to say the least, but he can now look forward to the US Open, where he won his first major title five years ago.
Medvedev was excellent on hard courts earlier this year, winning two titles (Brisbane International, Dubai Tennis Championships), and stunned Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells on his way to the final.
If he plays his best tennis in New York, don’t be surprised if Medvedev finds himself in the latter stages of the US Open.
Iga Swiatek
Poland’s Iga Swiatek is a six-time Grand Slam champion and a former world number one, but the glory days seem a distant memory right now.
She lost in the fourth round of the French Open and the third round of Wimbledon, and currently sits eighth in the WTA rankings.
However, as they say, form is temporary, class is permanent.
When her game clicks, Swiatek is one of the best players in the world and can beat anyone on tour.
If that happens at the US Open, who knows, she might win her seventh Grand Slam title.
How the top 10 seeds performed at Wimbledon this year
Wimbledon 2026 top 10 seeds (ATP)
| Seed | Name | Performance |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | Champion |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | Finalist – Lost to Jannik Sinner |
| 3 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Quarter-final – Lost to Novak Djokovic |
| 4 | Ben Shelton | First round – Lost to Otto Virtanen |
| 5 | Alex de Minaur | Fourth round – Lost to Flavio Cobolli |
| 6 | Taylor Fritz | Quarter-final – Lost to Alexander Zverev |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | Semi-final – Lost to Jannik Sinner |
| 8 | Daniil Medvedev | Third round – Lost to Jan-Lennard Struff |
| 9 | Flavio Cobolli | Quarter-final – Lost to Arthur Fery |
| 10 | Alexander Bublik | Fourth round – Lost to Taylor Fritz |
Wimbledon 2026 top 10 seeds (WTA)
| Seed | Name | Performance |
| 1 | Aryna Sabalenka | Fourth round – Lost to Naomi Osaka |
| 2 | Elena Rybakina | Third round – Lost to Elise Mertens |
| 3 | Iga Swiatek | Third round – Lost to Alex Eala |
| 4 | Jessica Pegula | Quarter-final – Lost to Coco Gauff |
| 5 | Mirra Andreeva | Second round – Lost to Barbora Krejcikova |
| 6 | Amanda Anisimova | Third round – Lost to Madison Keys |
| 7 | Coco Gauff | Semi-final – Lost to Karolina Muchova |
| 8 | Elina Svitolina | First round – Lost to Daria Snigur |
| 9 | Linda Noskova | Champion |
| 10 | Karolina Muchova | Finalist – Lost to Karolina Muchova |
With Wimbledon out of the way, the best players in men’s and women’s tennis will have their sights set on a deep run at the US Open.
This year’s US Open begins on Sunday, August 30.
