Coco Gauff kicked off her US Open campaign with a convincing straight‑sets victory over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, while the legendary Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are slated to meet Maya Joint and Chan Hao‑Ching after Tuesday’s draw. Fresh off her triumph at the Cincinnati Open, the home‑court favorite Gauff arrived in New York eager to chase a third Grand Slam title following her breakthrough win in 2023.
The 22‑year‑old has reached at least the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for four consecutive years, and she now awaits a second‑round clash with either Russia’s Daria Kasatkina or Spain’s Paula Badosa. "I wasn’t that nervous today, which was a surprise to me," Gauff said after the match. "When I walked back onto the court, I was trying to hold back a smile." From the first game, Gauff imposed her rhythm, breaking Sonmez’s serve once in the opening set and sealing it in just over thirty minutes.
World No. 53 Sonmez displayed moments of brilliance, rattling off powerful winners and a blistering backhand that earned applause from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd – even from Gauff herself. In the second set Sonmez settled into a steadier pace, trading breaks with the American and testing her opponent with deep groundstrokes and occasional net approaches.
Gauff, however, remained composed. After falling behind 3‑2, she saved three break points, held serve to level the set, and then broke back to regain the advantage at 4‑3.
The American’s poise allowed her to pull away, as Sonmez struggled to maintain the intensity that had briefly unsettled the fourth seed. "I know I can raise my level when I need to," Gauff reflected. "I like to challenge my opponent to keep that level for the whole match, and if they do, I clap my hands and walk off the court with my head held high. I was able to settle down today." The Williams sisters, who together captured the US Open women’s doubles crown in 1999 and 2009, will partner again for the first time at a Grand Slam since 2022, when they fell in the opening round.
They had hoped to reunite at Wimbledon after Serena’s return to competition earlier this season, but Serena withdrew after a knee injury in her first‑round singles match against Maya Joint. Serena, now 44, made her comeback this year after a four‑year hiatus, only to lose to the 20‑year‑old Australian Joint. The injury forced her out of the planned doubles match at the All England Club with her 46‑year‑old sister.
The pair recently teamed up at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where they were upset in the first round by Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. Joint and Chan, seeded 14th, will be their opponents in the opening round of the women’s doubles, which begins on Thursday. In other news, second seed Elena Rybakina advanced comfortably, dispatching teenage American wildcard Thea Frodin 6‑3, 6‑2.
Frodin, who once portrayed Serena in the tennis scenes of the Oscar‑winning film "King Richard," said she hopes to meet the real Serena soon. "Will Smith reposted one of my posts, which was really cool," she said. On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev narrowly escaped becoming the first top‑seeded man to lose his opening Grand Slam match since 2003.
The German, who claimed his first major at Roland Garros and was runner‑up to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, faced Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in a marathon that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning. After a seesaw battle – 6‑4, 3‑6, 6‑7(7), 7‑5, 6‑4 – Zverev finally broke Sonego’s serve late in the fourth set and clinched the win after 4 hours and 52 minutes. Zverev’s near‑upset was reminiscent of Ivo Karlović’s shock over Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2003, and it echoed Stefan Edberg’s loss to Alexander Volkov at the US Open in 1990, the last time a top seed fell in the first round at Flushing Meadows. Other notable matches included fifth seed Flavio Cobolli battling five sets to overcome Argentina’s Francisco Comesana, and ninth seed Taylor Fritz – a major hope for an American champion – defeating fellow U.S.
player Darwin Blanch in straight sets. French veteran Gaël Monfils, who announced his retirement at the end of the year, celebrated his 40th birthday with a dominant 2‑6, 6‑2, 6‑1, 6‑0 win over Spain’s Adolfo Álvarez. The US Open continues to be broadcast live on Sky Sports from August 30, with contract‑free streaming available on NOW and the Sky Sports app. Fans can also catch the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena from September 25‑27 via Sky Sports.