Lost somewhat in the hubbub surrounding the 2016 Rio Olympics, the U.S. Open tennis tournament gets under way on Monday.
You remember the Open … fourth Grand Slam event of the year, showcased in a borough of New York City, with all the big names involved. The latter was confirmed on Tuesday when tournament seeds were announced.
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Seeds are no surprise, following the rankings from the men's Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women's Tennis Association. Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber top the women's list; Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are 1-2 among men. It's the fifth time Williams has been No. 1 .
Draws for the tournament will be announced about 11:30 a.m. ET Friday.
Here's what you need to know.
The scene
First and foremost, a retractable roof is ready at the primary show court, Arthur Ashe Stadium. It's the showpiece of upgrades at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The complex is in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park section of Queens.
Arthur Ashe Stadium and its new lid (Getty Images)
The complex includes four show courts. Ashe is the world's largest tennis-only venue, seating more than 23,000. Louis Armstrong Stadium holds more than 10,000.
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Big crowds are expected in the Big Apple. The Open draws more than 700,000 each year.
Oh, and this year brings the biggest amount of prize money in tournament history.
The seeds
In addition to the top two, the men's field finds Canada's Milos Raonic starting as No. 5. The Americans: Steve Johnson, 19; John Isner, 20; Jack Sock, 26; and Sam Querrey, 29.
Djokovic is defending champion.
Most notable absence on the men's side? Roger Federer , who can't play because of a wonky knee. It's the first time he hasn't played in the Open since 1999. At his peak, Federer won five consecutive Open titles between 2004 and '08.
Serena Williams won Wimbledon, her first major title in a year after a slide that included losing in last year's Open semifinals . Kerber has been her tormentor in 2016.
MORE: Serena's titles | Federer's five-pack
Americans in the field: Venus Williams, No. 6; Madison Keys, 8; Sloane Stephens, 24; And CoCo Vandeweghe, 29.
Italy's Flavia Pennetta was the 2015 champion , but she announced her retirement after the match.
| Men | Women |
|---|---|
| 1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia | 1. Serena Williams, United States |
| 2. Andy Murray, Great Britain | 2. Angelique Kerber, Germany |
| 3. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland | 3. Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain |
| 4. Rafael Nadal, Spain | 4. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland |
| 5. Milos Raonic, Canada | 5. Simona Halep, Romania |
| 6. Kei Nishikori, Japan | 6. Venus Williams, United States |
| 7. Marin Cilic, Croatia | 7. Roberta Vinci, Italy |
| 8. Dominic Thiem, Austria | 8. Madison Keys, United States |
| 9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France | 9. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia |
| 10. Gael Monfils, France | 10. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic |
| 11. David Ferrer, Spain | 11. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain |
| 12. David Goffin, Belgium | 12. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia |
| 13. Richard Gasquet, France | 13. Johanna Konta, Great Britain |
| 14. Nick Kyrgios, Australia | 14. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic |
| 15. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain | 15. Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland |
| 16. Feliciano Lopez, Spain | 16. Samantha Stosur, Australia |
| 17. Bernard Tomic, Australia | 17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia |
| 18. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay | 18. Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic |
| 19. Steve Johnson, United States | 19. Elena Vesnina, Russia |
| 20. John Isner, United States | 20. Kiki Bertens, Netherlands |
| 21. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia | 21. Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania |
| 22. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria | 22. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine |
| 23. Kevin Anderson, South Africa | 23. Daria Kasatkina, Russia |
| 24. Lucas Pouille, France | 24. Sloane Stephens, United States |
| 25. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany | 25. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland |
| 26. Jack Sock, United States | 26. Caroline Garcia, France |
| 27. Alexander Zverev, Germany | 27. Laura Siegemund, Germany |
| 28. Martin Klizan, Slovakia | 28. Sara Errani, Italy |
| 29. Sam Querrey, United States | 29. CoCo Vandeweghe, United States |
| 30. Gilles Simon, France | 30. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia |
| 31. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain | 31. Misaki Doi, Japan |
| 32. Benoit Paire, France | 32. Timea Babos, Hungary |
The schedule
The U.S. Open begins Aug. 29 with two sessions daily; starting times are 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. (all times ET).
The women's championship match will begin about 4 p.m. on Sept. 10. The men's title match completes the competition, scheduled for 4 p.m. Sept. 11.
The screen
ESPN will carry all the competition, with preview and highlight shows plus encore matches on The Tennis Channel.