Coco Gauff kicked off her US Open campaign with a commanding straight‑sets victory over Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez, while the legendary Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are slated to meet the duo of Maya Joint and Chan Hao‑Ching after Tuesday's draw. Fresh from her triumph at the Cincinnati Open, the hometown favorite Gauff is eyeing a third Grand Slam crown after her breakthrough win in New York last year.
The 22‑year‑old American has reached at least the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for four consecutive editions, and she will next face either Russia's Daria Kasatkina or Spain's Paula Badosa in the second round. "I wasn't that nervous today, which was a shock," Gauff told the crowd after her match. "When I walked back out onto this court, I was trying to hold back a smile." From the first game she established dominance, breaking Sonmez's serve once in the opening set and sealing it in just over thirty minutes. Sonmez, ranked No.
53 in the world, displayed moments of brilliance, unleashing a series of powerful winners and a scorching backhand that earned applause from the Arthur Ashe Stadium audience, even drawing a nod from Gauff herself. In the second set the Turkish teenager settled into a rhythm, exchanging breaks with the American and probing Gauff with deep groundstrokes and occasional net approaches.
Gauff felt the pressure when she fell behind 3‑2, but she repelled three break points, held serve to level the set, and then broke Sonmez again to regain the initiative at 4‑3. From that point the American pulled away, as Sonmez struggled to maintain the intensity that had briefly unsettled the fourth seed. Gauff closed out the match comfortably, confirming her status as a serious contender.
"I know that I can raise my level if I need to," Gauff said post‑match. "I like to challenge my opponent to keep up that level the whole match, and if they do, I clap my hands and walk off the court with my head held high. But I was able to settle down." Her composure and tactical awareness were evident throughout, suggesting she has the mental tools required to go deep in a tournament that now feels familiar. In the women's doubles draw, the Williams sisters will reunite to take on the No.
14‑seeded pair of Hao‑Ching Chan and Maya Joint. The American duo, who captured the US Open doubles title in 1999 and again in 2009, last partnered at a Grand Slam in New York in 2022, where they fell in the opening round. They had hoped to make a comeback at Wimbledon after Serena returned to competition in June, but a knee injury forced Serena to withdraw from her first‑round singles match against Joint, ending any immediate plans for a Grand Slam partnership. Serena, now 44, made her return this season after a four‑year hiatus, only to lose to Joint, a 20‑year‑old Australian, and sustain a knee strain that forced her out of the planned Wimbledon doubles match with Venus, who is 46.
The sisters briefly teamed up at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where they were upset in the first round by Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. Their upcoming US Open doubles match will be the first Grand Slam appearance together since 2022, adding a nostalgic storyline for fans.
Elsewhere in the tournament, second seed Elena Rybakina advanced without trouble, dispatching teenage American wildcard Thea Frodin 6‑3, 6‑2. Frodin, who once portrayed Serena Williams in the tennis scenes of the Oscar‑winning film "King Richard," expressed excitement at the prospect of meeting the real Serena, noting that Will Smith had reshared one of her social‑media posts. On the men's side, Alexander Zverev narrowly avoided a historic first‑round exit for a top seed.
The German, who claimed his maiden major at Roland Garros and was runner‑up at Wimbledon to Jannik Sinner before Sinner withdrew with a knee injury, faced Lorenzo Sonego in a marathon five‑set battle that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning. Zverev trailed at various points and struggled to break Sonego's serve, putting him on the brink of becoming the first No. 1 seed to fall in his opening match at a Grand Slam since Ivo Karlović upset Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2003.
The last US Open top seed to lose early was Stefan Edberg, who fell to Alexander Volkov in 1990. Zverev finally cracked Sonego's serve late in the fourth set and sealed the win 6‑4, 3‑6, 7‑6(7), 5‑7, 6‑4 after 4 hours and 52 minutes of grueling tennis. Other notable results included fifth seed Flavio Cobolli battling five sets to defeat Argentine Francisco Comesana, and ninth seed Taylor Fritz, a home‑country hopeful, overcoming fellow American 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 Alvarez. The US Open continues to be broadcast live on Sky Sports from August 30, with streaming options available on NOW and the Sky Sports app. Fans can also look forward to the Laver Cup at London's O2 Arena from September 25‑27, which will be shown on the same platforms.
The tournament promises more high‑stakes matches, dramatic storylines, and the chance for rising stars like Gauff to cement their place among tennis's elite.