Mubadala DC Open 2026 matches to watch: Who do American stars play?

The Mubadala DC Open released the men’s and women’s singles draws Saturday afternoon in front of an eager crowd. Main draw action begins on Monday with the finals set for Aug. 2. Exact match times for the opening round have yet to be announced as of Sunday afternoon.

Here is a look at intriguing matchups to watch in the opening round and potential marquee matchups to look out for in the tournament’s later stages.

Men’s draw

In this year’s tournament, the men’s draw shrank from 48 to 32, which means no more first-round byes and some compelling opening-round matchups.

2025 DC Open Champion and world No. 5 Alex De Minaur opens his title defense as the top seed in the field. He begins with a stiff test against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas, ranked 51st in the world, has won 12 of 13 meetings between the two and will look to build off his most recent title at Gstaad in Switzerland.

Ben Shelton, the second seed, is the highest-ranked American man in the field. A semifinalist in Washington last year, he will take on a qualifier in the opening round. Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz is the third seed and will face Zizou Bergs in his first match.

Fritz aims to make a deep tournament run again in Washington after reaching the semifinals last year. With a first-round win, Fritz could face fellow American and close friend Tommy Paul in the Round of 16. The two Americans have split their previous six meetings as Paul opens his tournament run against Kamil Majchrzak.

One of the most highly anticipated first-round matchups features two of the sport’s rising young stars in Arthur Fils and Rafael Jodar. The 22-year-old Fils and 19-year-old Jodar are meeting for the first time on hardcourt. Fils won the previous meeting on clay, and the two young standouts each drew large crowds during their practice sessions over the weekend.

Twenty-year-old Learner Tien is back in Washington for a second time and with a career-high ranking of 16. The young American will face Adrian Mannarino for the first time in the opening round and could face either Alex Michelsen or Jack Draper in the Round of 16. Draper, the former World No. 4, is back from injury and is being coached by Andy Murray.

Fan favorite and Hyattsville native Frances Tiafoe is the sixth seed and opens his 10th DC Open against Terance Atman. Tiafoe won the previous three matchups, two of which were on hard court, as he aims to capture his first career title at his home tournament.

If higher seeds hold, Tiafoe and Shelton would meet in the quarterfinals, a rematch of last year’s high-intensity match that Shelton won in straight sets.

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Women’s draw

Jessica Pegula is the top seed as the four top seeds receive a first-round bye and are automatically in the Round of 16. Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Diana Shnaider also received opening-round byes as the four highest-ranked players in the field.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams, in her return to Washington, begins singles against Anastasia Potapova in what will be their first career meeting. With a win, Williams would take on Shnaider in the second round, who is also her doubles partner.

Americans Emma Navarro, the eighth seed, and Sofia Kenin meet in the opening round, which is the only first-round matchup featuring two Americans. Fellow American Madison Keys is the sixth seed and opens the tournament against Liudmila Samsonova. Keys has won five of the previous six matchups.

Twenty-one-year-old Alexandra Eala from the Philippines makes her singles debut in Washington against Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng. 2025 DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez is the seventh seed and starts her title defense against Magda Linette.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Steinberg at  [email protected] , 443-442-9445 and  x.com/jacobstein23 .

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