In her first-round match on 31 August, Aryna Sabalenka faced Colombia’s Camila Osorio, ranked 59th in the world, and won 6-2, 6-4. The match lasted 1 hour 27 minutes. Aryna Sabalenka’s second-round opponent will be Polina Iatcenko of Russia (No. 160), who beat RenataZarazua of Mexico (No. 74), in a three-set first-round match.

Aryna Sabalenka has reached the US Open final three years in a row. In 2023 she lost to Coco Gauff of the USA, while in the next two finals she beat two more U.S. representatives, Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova. In 2019, Aryna Sabalenka and Belgium’s Elise Mertens won the women’s doubles title, beating Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka and Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in the final. In singles, Victoria Azarenka reached the final three times (in 2012, 2013, 2020) but lost the title match on each occasion.

The main draw of the 2026 US Open began in New York on 30 August and will run through 13 September. The total prize pool is a record $108 million, with the men’s and women’s singles champions each receiving $5.5 million. Last year’s men’s singles winner was Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.