US Open: Best Men's and Women's Futures Bets

We're closing in on the end of August, and that means it's time to shift our gaze to the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.

The main draws were unveiled on Thursday, and US Open futures betting odds are up on FanDuel Sportsbook. We find defending champion Carlos Alcaraz as the favorite on the men's side, and for the women, 2023 US Open runner-up, Aryna Sabalenka, has the shortest odds to win.

Which futures bets stand out before the first round gets underway on Monday?

Best US Open Men's and Women's Futures Bets

Jessica Pegula to Win (+1200)

Coming into the summer hard court season, world No. 6 Jessica Pegula wasn't having a particularly noteworthy 2024 campaign that included missed time due to injuries and early exits at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and most recently the Olympics.

Fast forward to now and Pegula is coming off back-to-back finals at WTA 1000 events, winning the Canadian Open for the second year in a row and then coming up just short in the Cincinnati final against US Open favorite Aryna Sabalenka.

Making both finals was particularly noteworthy as Pegula was just the sixth woman to ever do it, and the last time a woman won both was in 1973.

Her momentum is similar to what we saw from fellow American Coco Gauff last summer, who recovered from a first-round loss at Wimbledon with championship runs at Washington and Cincinnati before capping it off by lifting the trophy at the US Open for her first major title.

Admittedly, there's a mental hurdle that Pegula will have to overcome if she's to win her first Grand Slam. Despite being a fixture in the top 10 dating back to mid-2022, even being ranked as high as 3rd at times, the 30-year-old has never advanced passed the quarterfinals in a major, getting stuck at that stage six different times.

But if she's ever going to do it, it's most likely on hard courts -- where she's achieved a stellar 74.5% win rate over the last 52 weeks, per Tennis Abstract -- in front of a pro-American home crowd.

Pegula finds herself on Iga Swiatek's quarter of the draw, and while she has a losing record versus the world No. 1 (3-6) like most players, the two split their matches 2-2 in 2023. We should expect her to give Swiatek a fight if they end up meeting.

Perhaps just as importantly, the American would avoid an in-form Sabalenka unless they face each other in the final. The Belarusian has been a menace at the two hard-court majors, winning back-to-back Australian Opens and reaching at least the semis in three straight US Opens.

Given that Sabalenka could stand in the way at the end of the road, I also like Jessica Pegula to Reach the Final (+800) and Jessica Pegula to Reach the Semi Finals - Quarter 1 (+500) as other options. In both cases, Pegula would need to potentially advance past Swiatek, but it's worth noting that outside of winning the 2022 US Open, Iga has otherwise bowed out in the fourth round or earlier in her other four attempts.

Daniil Medvedev to Reach the Semi Finals - Quarter 1 (+350)

After facing off in both the Wimbledon and Olympic finals this summer, the men's final feels destined to have co-favorites Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic locking horns yet again. That's particularly that case with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner still dealing with a lingering hip issue on top of the added scrutiny that's come from him testing positive for a banned substance, a case that's irked some of his fellow players.

Following the Olympics, Alcaraz played what he called "the worst match that I've ever played in my career" in Cincinnati, and Djokovic hasn't logged any hard-court matches at all -- but it's still difficult to envision these two coming in flat after playing at such a high level in that Paris final.

Therefore, I'm more inclined to look for value outside of the final, and backing Daniil Medvedev to reach the semifinals could be the ticket.

Medevedev is in Sinner's quarter, which isn't ideal, but he actually owns a 7-5 head-to-head record versus the Italian. While most of the Russian's wins came prior to Sinner emerging as a top-five player, he recently broke a five-match losing streak by defeating Jannik in this year's Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Hard courts are without question Medvedev's preferred surface, and his results at the Australian Open and US Open speak for themselves. He's been a finalist in Australia in three of the last four years, and at the US Open, he's reached at least the semifinals in four of the last five, which includes lifting the trophy in 2021.

According to Tennis Abstract, Medevdev ranks fourth behind just Sinner, Djokovic, and Alcaraz in overall and surface-blended Elo rating.

If Sinner's hip acts up, or he's feeling the heat from the criticism he's received in his doping case, it's possible he slips up prior to the quarterfinals, further increasing the chance of Medvedev going through to the semis. Medvedev has a winning record against the other top competitors in this section between Tommy Paul (3-1), Stefanos Tsitsipas (9-4), and Felix Auger-Aliassime (7-1).

Medvedev is +1600 to win the US Open, which is an awfully tempting number to take a swing at, as well. But just know that his recent track record against both Alcaraz and Djokovic isn't very strong, so he would likely need one or both to have a surprise early exit to have a realistic shot at his second major title.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.