Svitolina, Kostyuk lead seeded winners as US Open 2026 begins with few shocks
Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula advanced on the opening day of the US Open 2026. Seven seeded players featured in women’s singles, with Kamilla Rakhimova’s upset win over Barbora Krejickova the only surprise result.
New York: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula posted opening-round wins, with Kamilla Rakhimova’s upset of No. 27 seed Barbora Krejickova being the only blemish in a women’s singles schedule that largely went according to plan on Day 1 of the US Open 2026.
In all, seven seeded players were in action on the opening day on Sunday, and it finished 6-1; except for Paolini, every seeded winner secured a routine straight-sets win.
Svitolina opened the tournament’s first night session on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday with a brisk 6-1, 6-2 win over Solana Sierra in 52 minutes.
The ninth seed is now 9-2 in her last 11 Grand Slam openers, and her 117 Major wins are the most by a Ukrainian player in the Open Era. She is the only Ukrainian with more than 100 Grand Slam victories during this period.
Meanwhile, Kostyuk, who has reached two straight Grand Slam semifinals, began her push for a third with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Storm Hunter in 67 minutes on Grandstand. The No. 11 seed won the final five games — and seven of the last eight — to move to 33-8 on the season.
She finished with eight aces and 22 winners overall against 12 unforced errors.
Paolini’s path was far less straightforward. The No. 19 seed needed 1 hour and 46 minutes to fend off Veronika Erjavec, ultimately winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Despite a second-set lapse that opened the door for an upset, Paolini produced a solid stat line with 36 winners to 27 unforced errors.
After failing to reach the fourth round at four straight Majors, Paolini made the Wimbledon quarterfinals this summer — a stage she has yet to reach at the US Open.
No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez also contributed to the seeds’ positive record. Alexandrova beat McCartney Kessler 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes, while Fernandez defeated Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2 in 75 minutes.
Over on Court 12, former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, unseeded but still dangerous, delivered the comeback of the day. She trailed Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel 6-2, 5-2 before reeling off nine straight games — saving a match point in the process — to win 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Pliskova has now reached the second round in each of her last 10 US Open appearances, a run that includes one final and five quarterfinals.
Other results:
Polina Iatcenko bt Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7); Donna Vekic bt Talia Gibson 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Lanlana Tararudee bt Elvina Kalieva 6-3, 6-7 (4); Lucrezia Stefanini bt Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 4-6, 6-1; Wang Xinyu bt Emiliana Arango 6-4, 6-2; Katie Boulter bt Carol Young Suh Lee 6-4, 3-6, 6-0; Taylah Preston bt Alycia Parks 6-3. 6-3
