Coco Gauff launched her US Open journey with a straight‑sets triumph over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, while the legendary Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are slated to meet the pair of Maya Joint and Chan Hao‑Ching after Tuesday’s draw. Fresh off her Cincinnati Open title, the home‑grown favorite Gauff is eyeing a third Grand Slam crown following her breakthrough win in New York last year.
She has reached at least the fourth round in each of the past four editions of the tournament, and her next opponent will be either Daria Kasatkina or Paula Badosa in round two. "I wasn’t that nervous today, which was a surprise to me," Gauff said after the match. "When I stepped back onto the court I could barely keep a smile from spreading across my face." From the outset, the American dictated play, snapping the only service break of the opening set and wrapping up the set in just over thirty minutes.
World No. 53 Sonmez displayed moments of brilliance, unleashing a series of powerful winners, including a scorching backhand that earned applause from the Arthur Ashe crowd and even drew a nod from Gauff herself. The 24‑year‑old settled into the second set, exchanging breaks with the American and testing her with deep, penetrating groundstrokes and occasional net approaches. Gauff faced a brief scare 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 advantage at 4‑3.
The 22‑year‑old then pulled away, as Sonmez struggled to maintain the intensity that had briefly unsettled the fourth seed. Gauff closed out the match comfortably, confirming her dominance. "I know I can raise my level when I need to," Gauff reflected.
"I like to challenge my opponent to keep that intensity for the entire match, and if they do, I’ll clap my hands and walk off the court with my head held high. I was able to settle down today." In the women’s doubles draw, Serena and Venus Williams will reunite to face the team of Hao‑Ching Chan and Maya Joint – the latter having defeated Serena at Wimbledon earlier this summer. The Williams sisters, who captured the US Open doubles crown in 1999 and again in 2009, last partnered at a Grand Slam in New York in 2022, where they exited in the first round. They had planned a comeback at Wimbledon after Serena’s return to competition in June, but Serena withdrew after sustaining a knee injury in her opening‑round singles match against Joint.
Serena, now 44, made her return this season after a four‑year hiatus but fell to Joint, a 20‑year‑old Australian, and injured her knee in the process, forcing her to pull out of the scheduled doubles match with Venus at the All England Club. The sisters recently teamed up at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where they were upset in the opening round by Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. Joint and Chan are seeded 14th, and the first round of women’s doubles kicks off on Thursday.
Second seed Elena Rybakina also progressed, defeating teenage American wildcard Thea Frodin 6‑3, 6‑2. Frodin once appeared as Serena’s double in the tennis scenes of the Oscar‑winning film "King Richard," which chronicles the early lives of the Williams sisters. She remarked, "I haven’t met her yet, but I hope I get the chance soon. Seeing Will Smith repost one of my posts was a cool experience." On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev fought back to avoid becoming the first top‑seeded man to lose his opening match at a Grand Slam since 2003.
He edged Lorenzo Sonego 6‑4, 3‑6, 6‑7(7), 7‑5, 6‑4 in a marathon that concluded in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Zverev, who claimed his first major at the French Open and was runner‑up to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, entered the US Open as the No.
1 seed after Sinner withdrew with a knee injury. Throughout the match, Zverev struggled to break Sonego’s serve, flirting with the historic upset that has only been witnessed once before at the US Open, when Stefan Edberg fell to Alexander Volkov in 1990. After nearly five hours of play, Zverev finally secured a crucial break late in the fourth set and held on to seal the victory.
Other notable men’s results included fifth‑seed Flavio Cobolli surviving a five‑set battle against Argentina’s Francisco Comesana, and ninth‑seed Taylor Fritz – a major hope for a home champion – dispatching fellow American Darwin Blanch in straight sets. Veteran Frenchman 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 Adolfo Alvarez.
The US Open continues to be broadcast live on Sky Sports from August 30, with streaming options available on NOW without a contract and via the Sky Sports app. Fans can also catch the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena from September 25‑27, also on Sky Sports.