New York, September 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Fourth seed Coco Gauff began her US Open campaign with a composed 6-3, 6-4 victory over resilient Turkish player Zeynep Sonmez to book her place in the second round.
The 22-year-old American, competing in her eighth US Open main draw, entered the tournament among the leading contenders following an impressive run of form. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and Toronto before winning the Cincinnati title.
Gauff’s recent Cincinnati success carries added significance. When she won the tournament in 2023, she went on to capture her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open later that year. She added a second Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros in 2025.
Gauff made a strong start against Sonmez, firing two aces and a service winner in her opening service game. She maintained control on serve, secured a break for a 4-2 lead and closed out the first set in 32 minutes.
Sonmez, ranked No. 53 in the world, raised her level in the second set and frequently moved forward to disrupt Gauff’s rhythm. She recovered from an early break and created three break-point opportunities, but Gauff saved all three before holding serve on the 16th point of the game.
Gauff immediately broke back to move 4-3 ahead and held her advantage to complete the victory.
The result keeps Gauff’s hopes alive of becoming the world No. 1 in singles for the first time. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 2, achieved in June 2024. She previously reached No. 1 in doubles in August 2022.
Gauff could next face former world No. 2 Paula Badosa or former world No. 8 Daria Kasatkina, depending on the outcome of their first-round clash.
Earlier, fifth seed Mirra Andreeva made an emphatic start by defeating world No. 36 Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-2. The 19-year-old Russian advanced to the second round in New York for the fourth consecutive year.
Andreeva improved her record in Grand Slam first-round matches to 14-1. She has reached the second week at each of the other three Grand Slams but has never gone beyond the third round at the US Open.
She will face world No. 98 Eva Lys in the second round.
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