NEW YORK, United States, September 10, 2026: Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski removed the top seeds. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz ended the latest US Open run of three-time champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. By the end of Thursday’s men’s doubles semifinals at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the championship match had lost both of the teams carrying the strongest pre-match New York narratives.
Harrison and Skupski defeated No. 1 seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(4), 6-2, while sixth seeds Krawietz and Puetz beat Ram and Salisbury 6-3, 6-4.
The two winning teams will meet Saturday for the 2026 US Open men’s doubles title, with Harrison and Skupski attempting to add a second Grand Slam championship this season and Krawietz and Puetz returning to the final stage in New York after finishing runners-up in 2024.
For continuing results, analysis and tournament coverage, follow The Sports Encounter’s Tennis coverage.
US Open 2026 Men’s Doubles Semifinal Results
| Semifinal | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz vs Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury | 6-3, 6-4 | Krawietz / Puetz |
| Harri Heliovaara / Henry Patten vs Christian Harrison / Neal Skupski | 6-7(4), 2-6 | Harrison / Skupski |
US Open Men’s Doubles Final at a Glance
| Final Detail | Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz | Christian Harrison / Neal Skupski |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | No. 6 | No. 5 |
| Country combination | Germany / Germany | United States / Great Britain |
| Semifinal win | Beat Ram / Salisbury 6-3, 6-4 | Beat Heliovaara / Patten 7-6(4), 6-2 |
| Major 2026 context | US Open finalists again after 2024 runner-up finish | 2026 Australian Open champions |
| Final | Saturday, September 12, 12:00 p.m. ET | |
Harrison and Skupski Turned the Top Seeds Into the Chasers
The second semifinal carried the more obvious upset potential because Heliovaara and Patten arrived as the No. 1 seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions.
Their route into the final four had already tested them severely. In the quarterfinals, they recovered from a set down and survived two tiebreaks before beating Guido Andreozzi and Manuel Guinard 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-2. The official US Open report confirmed that the top seeds had to save three match points during that run.
Harrison and Skupski entered the semifinal differently.
They had dispatched Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, continuing a tournament in which their partnership has repeatedly moved through matches without allowing opponents prolonged control.
The Sports Encounter had already identified that contrast when the men’s doubles field reached the quarterfinal stage. Heliovaara and Patten brought the No. 1 seeding and major pedigree. Harrison and Skupski brought a season that already included the Australian Open title.
Thursday changed the balance.
The first set went to a tiebreak, which was exactly where the top seeds might have expected their experience to matter most. Instead, Harrison and Skupski took the breaker 7-4 and then prevented the match from developing into another extended three-set recovery for Heliovaara and Patten.
The second set ended 6-2.
That difference matters more than the score alone suggests. A match that began with the No. 1 seeds still able to protect serve deep into the opening set ended with Harrison and Skupski controlling enough return games to stop the contest from tightening again.
Harrison and Skupski Have Been Building Toward This All Season
This final should not be treated as a surprise run produced by one good week.
Harrison and Skupski won the 2026 Australian Open together and entered New York as the No. 5 seeds. The official US Open coverage also noted Skupski’s wider championship pedigree, including his 2023 Wimbledon men’s doubles title and a runner-up finish at the 2025 US Open.
That gives Saturday an interesting personal layer for the British player.
Skupski was one victory away from the title in New York last year with a different partner. He is back in the final twelve months later, this time alongside Harrison and with an Australian Open championship already behind them.
The consistency of their New York route is equally important.
They beat Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez 6-0, 7-6(3) in the opening round, then overcame Jan Choinski and Alexander Donski 7-6(1), 6-3. Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner were next, losing 6-3, 7-6(1), before Bolelli and Vavassori fell 6-3, 6-2.
They have now removed the top seeds.
Across five matches, the pairing has not required a deciding set.
Krawietz and Puetz Removed the Team That Defined This Tournament for Three Years
If Harrison and Skupski produced the bigger seeding upset, Krawietz and Puetz eliminated the partnership with the stronger US Open legacy.
Ram and Salisbury won the men’s doubles championship in New York three consecutive times from 2021 through 2023, becoming the defining team of that period.
Their 2026 run suggested another title challenge was possible.
They eliminated defending champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, a result that immediately made their semifinal against Krawietz and Puetz one of the most compelling matches left in the draw.
The official US Open semifinal preview specifically framed Ram and Salisbury as three-time champions and Krawietz and Puetz as the 2024 finalists. That made the semifinal a meeting between recent New York dominance and a team still looking to finish a job left incomplete two years earlier.
The Germans won 6-3, 6-4.
There was no deciding-set escape for Ram and Salisbury this time. Krawietz and Puetz took the opening set with enough separation to control the direction of the match and closed the second before the three-time champions could force another turn.
Krawietz and Puetz Have Already Survived the Harder Route
The German pair’s path has contained more turbulence than that of Harrison and Skupski.
They required three sets in their opening round and again needed three against Jean-Julien Rojer and Theodore Winegar. In the third round, they edged Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool 7-6(1), 7-6(5), winning two sets in which neither side could create conventional separation.
That performance was one of the major talking points in The Sports Encounter’s analysis of the men’s doubles last 16.
The quarterfinal against Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic demanded even more. Krawietz and Puetz came through another three-set contest to reach the semifinals before producing a cleaner result against Ram and Salisbury.
The progression is useful.
They have already been through extended matches, multiple tiebreaks and opponents with significant Grand Slam experience. Saturday will not introduce a level of pressure they have not encountered during this tournament.
The Final Pits Momentum Against Accumulated Survival
The two finalists have reached the same stage through noticeably different match profiles.
Harrison and Skupski have been cleaner. Their route has been built almost entirely around straight-set wins and the ability to avoid the type of deciding-set volatility that can drain a doubles team late in a major.
Krawietz and Puetz have had to survive more uncertainty.
That does not automatically make one route better than the other.
Freshness can matter in a final, particularly in doubles where reaction speed around the net and first-step movement are critical.
Pressure experience matters too.
Krawietz and Puetz have repeatedly operated in situations where a handful of points could end their tournament. Harrison and Skupski have repeatedly stopped opponents from creating those situations.
Saturday will test which profile transfers better to a final.
Why the First-Set Tiebreak Against the Top Seeds Matters
Harrison and Skupski’s semifinal victory carries one tactical signal that should matter against the Germans.
They handled the highest-pressure moment of the opening set against the No. 1 team.
Doubles matches between elite teams can spend long stretches without either pair finding a conventional service break. When that happens, six games of work can quickly become secondary to a seven-point tiebreak.
Harrison and Skupski handled that situation better than Heliovaara and Patten.
The importance is psychological as much as mathematical.
Once the first set disappeared, the top seeds were forced to chase. The second set then moved decisively toward Harrison and Skupski.
Krawietz and Puetz know that pattern well because their own run has included several tiebreaks. If Saturday’s opener stays tight, neither side should expect the breaker to feel unfamiliar.
The Men’s Doubles Final Arrives During a US Open Full of New York Disruption
The doubles draw has developed alongside a singles tournament in which established expectations have repeatedly changed.
Ben Shelton’s extraordinary five-set victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz produced one of the biggest results of the men’s event, covered by The Sports Encounter in our analysis of Shelton’s late-night quarterfinal breakthrough.
Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, returned to the semifinals after ending Botic van de Zandschulp’s upset-heavy run.
The women’s tournament has produced its own shifts. Coco Gauff’s three-set comeback against Mirra Andreeva extended her run into the semifinals, while Elena Rybakina’s progression has completed a much larger career milestone.
The Sports Encounter’s deep look at Rybakina’s road to world No. 1 explains how her New York results completed a rise that had been developing across several seasons.
Jessica Pegula also survived her own quarterfinal pressure before reaching the last four, as covered in our Pegula-Navarro quarterfinal analysis.
The men’s doubles final now adds another championship without the No. 1 seeds or the most decorated US Open team of the recent era.
What Harrison and Skupski Need to Do in the Final
Their best route is probably the one that has carried them this far.
They do not need to turn Saturday into a spectacular shot-making exhibition.
They need to continue protecting service games, keep first volleys simple, attack second serves when opportunities appear and avoid giving Krawietz and Puetz repeated looks at the same return patterns.
The Australian Open champions have shown throughout New York that they can win without allowing matches to become chaotic.
That is a significant strength against opponents who have demonstrated an ability to survive chaos.
What Krawietz and Puetz Need to Change From 2024
The Germans already know what reaching the US Open final feels like.
They were runners-up here in 2024.
Two years later, another final gives that experience practical value rather than sentimental value.
They know how much the margins shrink at this stage. They also know a strong tournament can still end without the trophy.
The semifinal win over Ram and Salisbury showed that the Germans can beat a partnership carrying far greater historical success in New York. Harrison and Skupski present a different problem because they arrive with better current-season championship form and a cleaner run through this tournament.
Krawietz and Puetz will need their return games to create pressure before Harrison and Skupski establish the same type of scoreboard control they found against the top seeds.
TSE Final Scorecard: What Is at Stake?
US Open Men’s Doubles Final Stakes
- Christian Harrison / Neal Skupski: Chasing their second Grand Slam title together after winning the 2026 Australian Open.
- Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz: Returning to the US Open final after finishing runners-up in 2024.
- Harrison / Skupski semifinal statement: Defeated top seeds Heliovaara / Patten 7-6(4), 6-2.
- Krawietz / Puetz semifinal statement: Defeated three-time US Open champions Ram / Salisbury 6-3, 6-4.
- Final date: Saturday, September 12.
- Scheduled start: 12:00 p.m. ET.
When Is the 2026 US Open Men’s Doubles Final?
The men’s doubles final is scheduled for Saturday, September 12 at 12:00 p.m. New York time.
The official US Open tournament schedule places the championship in Saturday’s opening final session.
The winner will emerge from a draw in which both the top seeds and three-time champions disappeared on the same semifinal day.
TSE Analysis: The Final Now Belongs to the Teams That Disrupted the Expected Ending
The easiest way to describe Thursday would be to call it a day of two upsets.
That misses part of the point.
Harrison and Skupski entered the US Open as Australian Open champions and the No. 5 seeds. Krawietz and Puetz arrived as the No. 6 seeds and former US Open finalists.
Neither team came from nowhere.
What changed in the semifinals was the identity of the teams standing between them and the trophy.
Heliovaara and Patten had the No. 1 seed, Wimbledon momentum and three shared Grand Slam titles. Harrison and Skupski stopped them in two sets.
Ram and Salisbury carried three consecutive US Open championships and had just eliminated the defending champions. Krawietz and Puetz stopped them in two sets as well.
Saturday will therefore decide which of two established partnerships can convert an excellent season into the tournament’s final result.
Harrison and Skupski have been the cleaner team in New York.
Krawietz and Puetz have been the more battle-tested.
The semifinal round removed the historical favorites.
The final will decide who was actually ready to replace them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who reached the 2026 US Open men’s doubles final?
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz will face Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski in the 2026 US Open men’s doubles final.
Who did Harrison and Skupski beat in the semifinal?
Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski defeated top seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(4), 6-2.
Who did Krawietz and Puetz beat in the semifinal?
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz defeated Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 6-4.
Are Harrison and Skupski Grand Slam champions?
Yes. Harrison and Skupski won the 2026 Australian Open men’s doubles title together.
Have Krawietz and Puetz reached the US Open final before?
Yes. Krawietz and Puetz reached the 2024 US Open men’s doubles final and finished runners-up.
Who were the No. 1 seeds in the US Open men’s doubles draw?
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten were the top seeds. Harrison and Skupski eliminated them in the semifinals.
How many US Open titles did Ram and Salisbury win together?
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury won three consecutive US Open men’s doubles championships from 2021 through 2023.
What seeds are the US Open men’s doubles finalists?
Harrison and Skupski are seeded No. 5, while Krawietz and Puetz are seeded No. 6.
When is the US Open men’s doubles final?
The final is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. New York time.
Where can I follow more US Open 2026 coverage?
Readers can follow The Sports Encounter’s Tennis hub for ongoing US Open results, analysis, player stories and championship coverage.