Coco Gauff opened her defense of the US Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zeynep Sonmez on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, defeating a tough opponent in 1 hour and 20 minutes in her second-shortest opening-round match at Flushing Meadows.
Gauff, 22 and seeded fourth, had been pushed to three sets in five of her previous seven first-round matches at the tournament. Sonmez played well enough at stretches that Gauff applauded her opponent on a couple of occasions, including a tracked-down ball in the corner hit down the line on the run and a volley with unusual spin that cleared the net for a winner.
Gauff said afterward that she knows she can raise her level when needed and prefers to challenge her opponents to maintain a high standard throughout a match. She said that when they do, she walks off holding her head high.
She won 64 percent of her second serve points, her third-highest percentage in a US Open match. She advances to a second round against Paula Badosa or Daria Kasatkina.
Her momentum heading in
Gauff arrived in New York this year in a significantly stronger position than 2024, when she was battling serve problems and had just begun working with a new coach on the eve of the tournament. She eventually lost in the fourth round to Naomi Osaka that year.
This summer she won the Cincinnati title, as she had in 2023 before winning her first Grand Slam, and made semifinal runs at Wimbledon and Toronto. She is in contention for the world No. 1 ranking alongside Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula. To take the top spot, she would need to win the title and have Rybakina lose before the semifinals.
Eala dazzles at Armstrong
Alex Eala had a different kind of night. The 21-year-old Filipina star Eala beat Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 at Louis Armstrong Stadium and had the crowd with her from before she even took the court.
About four hours before her match, every seat at the practice courts was filled. Fans who did not have tickets for the evening session came to watch her hit. They carried Filipino flags and wore hats with phrases encouraging her to fight on. They cheered, photographed and videoed her groundstrokes, volleys and serves, and some FaceTimed family and friends from the practice court to share the moment.
Eala has had a remarkable summer. She beat Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, won her first WTA singles title and reached a career-high ranking of 18th in the world. Eala now advances to the second round of the US Open, where Eala’s growing profile and the attention her appearance generates show no sign of slowing.
The No. 1 ranking picture
The race for the year-end No. 1 ranking adds stakes to every match for the four contenders still in the draw. Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina and Pegula all have paths to the ranking depending on results across the draw. Gauff’s path requires her own title and a specific outcome from Rybakina before the semifinals.
For Eala the ranking conversation is about the future rather than the present, but the pace at which she has climbed suggests it is a matter of time before she enters that conversation more directly.
For Eala the ranking conversation is about the future rather than the present, but the pace at which she has climbed suggests it is a matter of time before she enters that conversation more directly.
