The world’s top tennis athletes will look to get their hands on the year’s last Grand Slam trophy when the US Open 2024 gets under way in New York on Monday.

Novak Djokovic will aim to extend his lead in men’s all-time singles Grand Slam title wins to 25 when he defends his title, while home favourite Coco Gauff will look to shake off a poor run of form in major tournaments and keep the women’s singles crown she won in 2023.

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The tournament will begin under the shadow of the latest doping scandal in the game as men’s top seed Jannik Sinner has been cleared to play despite failing two doping tests in recent weeks, causing a stir among fellow players with Djokovic questioning the “lack of standardised protocols” in tennis.

Al Jazeera breaks down all the major talking points and numbers ahead of the opening round of matches:

When does the US Open 2024 main round begin?

The main draw of the tournament begins on Monday, August 26 with the first round of women’s and men’s singles matches.

The first round of doubles matches get under way on Wednesday, August 28.

When are the US Open 2024 finals?

Men’s singles: Sunday, September 8 at 2pm (10:00 GMT)

Women’s singles: Saturday, September 7 at 4pm (12:00 GMT)

Men’s doubles: Saturday, September 7 at 2pm (10:00 GMT)

Women’s doubles: Friday, September 6 at 12pm (08:00 GMT) or Thursday, September 5 at 3pm (11:00 GMT)

Mixed doubles: Friday, September 6 at 12pm (08:00 GMT) or Thursday, September 5 at 3pm (11:00 GMT)

The men’s and women’s winners will receive equal prize money at the US Open [File: Richard Drew/AP]

Where is the venue of the US Open?

The United States Tennis Association hosts the tournament at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York.

The US Open is the second hardcourt Grand Slam of the year, after the Australian Open.

The finals are played at the 23,771-capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium, while the Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand and Court 17 are the other show courts of the tournament.

The US Open is played in the Queens borough of New York City [File: Julio Cortez/AP]

How are the players drawn in the tournament?

As in other Grand Slams, the top 32 players in the ATP and WTA rankings enter the main draw automatically and are seeded to ensure that they don’t meet in the earlier rounds of the tournament.

Most of the remaining entrants enter the main round after playing qualifying rounds, while some – local players and former majors winners who have dropped in rankings – are handed wild card entries from tournament organisers.

Who are the defending champions of the US Open?

Men’s singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Women’s singles: Coco Gauff (US)

Men’s doubles: Rajeev Ram (US) and Joe Salisbury (UK)

Women’s doubles: Erin Routliffe (New Zealand) and Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada)

Mixed doubles: Anna Danilina (Kazasthan) and Harri Heliovaara (Finland)

Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open women’s singles final to win her first-ever Grand Slam title [Frank Franklin II/AP]

Who are the top seeds?

Men’s singles (top 10):

Jannik Sinner (Italy)
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Alexander Zverev (Germany)
Daniil Medvedev (Russia/no flag)
Andrey Rublev (Russia/no flag)
Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
Casper Ruud (Norway)
Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Alex de Minaur (Australia)

Women’s singles (top 10): 

Iga Swiatek (Poland)
Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus/no flag)
Coco Gauff (US)
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Jessica Pegula (US)
Qinwen Zheng (China)
Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)

Who are the favourites to win the US Open?

Men’s singles: 

Alcaraz has been in red-hot form during the summer as he bagged both the French Open and Wimbledon as well as an Olympic silver medal.

Djokovic enters the tournament after winning the Olympic men’s singles gold and becoming only the fifth singles player to complete a career Golden Slam.

Sinner will be under sharp focus not only as the top seed and an in-form hardcourt player, but also due to the criticism of his recent doping violation and clearance to participate.

Women’s singles:

Gauff will be backed by a raucous home crowd and find herself in comfortable territory as she attempts to defend her first and only Grand Slam title while seeded third.

Sabalenka was the losing finalist in 2023 but will be buoyed by her hardcourt Australian Open win earlier this year and will plot a plan to dethrone Gauff whom she could meet in the final once again.

Swiatek is the top seed and the Olympic singles bronze medallist, who also has this the last three French Open titles in her bag. The Polish 23-year-old won the US Open in 2022 and will be a favourite to repeat the feat.

What’s the prize money?

The total prize money is $75m, a 15 percent increase from 2023.

The US Open will hand out the highest individual prize money of all four Grand Slams of 2024 with a $3.6m reward for singles champions, ahead of the $3.51m awarded by Wimbledon in July.

Men’s and women’s doubles champions will receive $750,000, while mixed doubles champions will receive $200,000.

The breakdown in the singles category (men and women) is:

Champions: $3.6m

Runners-up: $1.8m

Semifinalists: $1m

Quarterfinalists: $530,000

Round of 16: $325,000

Third round: $215,000

Second round: $140,000

First round: $100,000

What are the five main talking points ahead of the US Open?

Sinner’s doping sin: The Italian’s main job in New York will be to not let the cloud over his doping controversy affect his game. While he’s said he was happy that news was “finally out” and that he hopes for “clean air” at the tournament after a number of players alleged double standards as he escaped a doping ban despite failing two drug tests.

Djokovic’s quest for number 25: The man with the most singles Grand Slam titles has been eyeing a record-extending 25th trophy all year. He fell short after reaching the final at Wimbledon, but will be hoping a fifth US Open crown will take him to the summit as he looks to break Australian great Margaret Court’s record of 24 singles titles and seal his GOAT status.

Jabeur’s struggles with injury: Tunisia’s “Minister of Happiness” Ons Jabeur has brought many a smile to the faces of tennis fans but has struggled to reach the final weeks of major tennis tournaments in recent months. Recurring injuries have not helped her cause and the 2022 losing finalist has had to pull out on the eve of the US Open.

Gauff under the weight of pressure: Despite a poor run at majors this year, Gauff says she perceives the pressure of being home favourite and defending champion as a “privilege” and will head into the tournament with a new motto: “If you defend, that means you won something before.”

Non-Olympians hope rest will pay off: A number of top tennis athletes opted out of having a shot at Olympic glory with the hopes of using the time to prepare themselves for the final Grand Slam of the year. The likes of Sabalenka, Sinner, Rublev and Rybakina were missing in action and Paris but will look to make the most of it in New York.

Novak Djokovic showed off his Olympic gold medal during the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day ahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center [Jamie Squire/Getty Images via AFP]

Where to watch and follow the US Open?

Al Jazeera will cover the tournament with news reports and updates on major talking points, in addition to providing live text and photo coverage of both singles finals.

The following regional broadcasters have official rights to air the matches:

Africa: beIN Sports and SuperSport
Europe: Eurosport, Sky Sports, Puls4, SRF/RSI, Sportdeutschland.TV, SuperTennis and Telefonica/Movistar
Asia Pacific and Oceania: CCTV, CJ ENM, Digicel, MIGU, Nine, PCCW, Sportcast, TDM, SPOTV, Stan Sport, TVNZ and WOWOW
India and subcontinent: Sony Sports Network
Latin America and the Caribbean: ESPN International
Middle East: beIN Sports
North America: ESPN, TSN, RDS