US Open WTA Day One Round-Up | Jessica Pegula starts strong as Kostyuk and Svitolina cruise

The opening day of the US Open saw several of the leading names in action, with Jessica Pegula, Leylah Fernandez, Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina all securing their places in the second round. Pegula made a confident start to her campaign against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, while Fernandez also progressed in straight sets against Shuai Zhang. Kostyuk and Svitolina produced similarly convincing performances, with Katie Boulter the only player in the group required to go the distance.

There was also a dramatic three-set battle between Boulter and South Korean qualifier Carol Young-suh Lee, but the Brit ultimately recovered from losing the second set to advance. With the tournament beginning to take shape, the opening day provided a mixture of straightforward victories and hard-fought comebacks as the women's draw got underway in New York.

Pegula began her US Open campaign with a composed straight-sets victory over Ruse, taking control early and never allowing the Romanian to build enough momentum to seriously threaten the result. The American established the advantage in the opening set and maintained her pressure on return as the match progressed.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Pegula continued to put Ruse under pressure in her service games while protecting her own delivery, eventually opening up enough of a gap to close out the match 6-3, 6-2.

The result gives Pegula an efficient start at a tournament where she will be looking to make another deep run. After a strong 2025 US Open campaign and an increasingly consistent presence near the top of the WTA rankings, the American avoided an early scare and moved into the second round without dropping a set.

Fernandez also advanced without needing a deciding set, overcoming Zhang in a match where the Canadian gradually established control. Zhang stayed competitive during the early exchanges, but Fernandez was able to create separation and take the opening set 6-3.

The second set proved more one-sided. Fernandez continued to dictate the important rallies and gave Zhang few opportunities to change the direction of the match, pulling away to complete the 6-3, 6-2 victory. The Canadian now moves into the second round with an opportunity to build on her opening performance and put together another significant run at Flushing Meadows.

Kostyuk's scoreline eventually looked comfortable, but Hunter made her work for the opening set. The Australian remained close throughout the early exchanges, forcing Kostyuk to find the necessary breakthrough rather than allowing the Ukrainian to run away with the match from the start.

Kostyuk eventually took the opener 6-4, and that proved to be the turning point. Once she had the advantage, the 11th seed raised the intensity considerably and began pulling Hunter away from the contest.

The second set was almost entirely Kostyuk's. She dropped just one game, taking control of the rallies and refusing to give Hunter an opportunity to rebuild the momentum she had shown earlier. Kostyuk completed the 6-4, 6-1 victory after 67 minutes, turning a competitive opening set into one of the day's more convincing performances.

It was also another positive step in what has been a productive Grand Slam season for Kostyuk. The Ukrainian has already established herself as a dangerous opponent on the biggest stages in 2026, and a clean first-round victory gives her another opportunity to go deep in New York.

Svitolina produced an even more emphatic performance against Sierra, with the ninth seed taking control almost immediately. The Ukrainian did not allow the Argentine to settle into the match and quickly built a lead that made the opening set increasingly difficult to escape from.

Svitolina's consistency proved particularly important. Rather than allowing Sierra to dictate exchanges, she repeatedly forced the qualifier to play the extra ball and capitalized when opportunities appeared. The result was a 6-1 opening set that lasted only a fraction of the time a competitive Grand Slam set normally requires.

There was no let-up in the second. Svitolina continued to dictate the match and moved through another comfortable set, eventually completing the 6-1, 6-2 victory in just 51 minutes.

For Sierra, the occasion was significant regardless of the scoreline: the Argentine was making her US Open main-draw debut after reaching the tournament for the first time. Svitolina, however, gave her no opportunity to turn that debut into an upset, producing one of the cleanest victories of the opening day.

Boulter was forced to work significantly harder than the other seeded names in this group, with Lee taking advantage of her opportunities to claim the opening set 6-4. The South Korean qualifier managed to keep Boulter uncomfortable and put herself in position to cause an early upset.

The Brit responded in the second set, however, finding a way to regain control and level the match at one set apiece. The momentum then shifted decisively.

Boulter produced a near-perfect response in the decider, refusing to allow Lee back into the contest and sweeping through the final set 6-0. After being pushed for two sets, the Brit finished emphatically to secure her place in the second round.