Great Britain's Alison Hughes will become the second female ever, joining Eva Asderaki-Moore, to chair a US Open men's singles final. Asderaki-Moore chaired the 2015 final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with the Brit calling tomorrow's final between Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro.
Who Chairs Major Finals? Women Do
Four of the five finals main draw finals will see women take center stage as the chair umpire. Louise Azemar Engzell of Sweden called the men's doubles final yesterday between Jack Sock/Mike Bryan and Lukas Kubot/Marcelo Melo. Marijana Veljovic of Serbia called the mixed doubles final earlier today, won by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray.
Marija Cicak of Croatia will call the women's doubles final tomorrow between Ashleigh Barty/Coco Vandeweghe and Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic. Carlos Ramos of Portugal will chair the women's final today between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.
More on Hughes
Hughes is no stranger to calling major finals. She chaired the 2015 Wimbledon final between Garbiñe Muguruza and Serena, marking the sixth time in her career where she has sat in the chair for the ladies' final at the All-England Club.
That would mark the second major final she chaired that year, calling the Australian Open final between Serena and Maria Sharapova. In that final, she gave the American a hindrance call for yelling "Come on" while Sharapova was trying to return the ball. Later that year, she was also the chair umpire for the Fed Cup final between the Czech Republic and Russia.
During the 2016 US Open, Hughes penalized Marcos Baghdatis during his match against Gael Monfils for using his cell phone during a changeover.