Venus Williams drawn against former World No 2 Paula Badosa in the US Open first round… with Coco Gauff to face qualifier as she begins her bid for glory at Flushing Meadows

Venus Williams will take on Spain’s Paula Badosa – a former world No 2 – in the first round of the US Open.

The 43-year-old has not reached the second round of her home Grand Slam since 2019 and Williams now faces a tough task to enjoy a prolonged run at Flushing Meadows.

Meanwhile Coco Gauff, the No 6 seed who arrives in New York on the back of two hard-court titles already this season, will take on a qualifier in round one. 

Top seed Iga Swiatek faces Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson while on the men’s side, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has been drawn against world No 78 Dominik Koepfer of Germany.

His main rival for the crown, Novak Djokovic, will face France’s Alexandre Muller in the first round. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is back at the US Open for the first time since 2021.

Alcaraz is in line to meet British pair Dan Evans – the No 26 seed – in round three and Cameron Norrie (seeded 16th) in the fourth.

He could face Jannik Sinner in the quarter finals in what would be a mouth-watering repeat of last year’s epic clash, when they shared a late-night epic on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sinner, the No 6 seed, faces a tough run to reach the last eight, with 12th seed Alex Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov and former champions Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka in his quarter of the draw. Murray and Dimitrov could meet in the second round.

No 3 seed Daniil Medvedev joins them in the top half, while last year’s finalist Casper Ruud is in the bottom section alongside fourth seed Holger Rune. 

There are five Americans among the seeds – Taylor Fritz (9), Frances Tiafoes (10), Tommy Paul (14), Sebastian Korda (31) and Wimbledon hero Chris Eubanks (28). They are all in the bottom half of the draw. 

Former semi-finalist Tiafoe takes on compatriot Learner Tien in the first round, while Fritz faces Steve Johnson in another all-American clash.

More than 20 American women currently line up in the main draw, led by Gauff and third seed Jessica Pegula.

Pegula, who has never been beyond the quarter finals of a major, will begin her bid for glory against Camila Giorgi – the world No 52 from Italy.

Gauff could reignite her rivalry with Swiatek in the last eight. Swiatek won all seven of their first meetings but last week, Gauff won a tense match en route to winning in Cincinnati.