New York (AFP) - Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked first in the world, began the campaign to defend her title in the US Championship, the fourth major tennis tournament, by defeating Colombian Camila Osorio on Monday with relative ease 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round.
Published on: 08/31/2026 - 19:55 Last updated: 08/31/2026 - 21:46
The winner of the tournament in New York over the past two years was able to settle the match with a strong first serve that her opponent returned to the net.
After the match, Sabalenka said in her speech on the field that she was “very happy” with her level, especially in the first group, and she also expressed her happiness at returning to New York.
"It's unbelievable. I feel like this is one of my favorite courts," she added of her return to Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she won two of her four Grand Slam titles.
Sabalenka arrived in New York after a series of disappointing results recently, as she had not won any title since winning the Miami tournament in March.
She showed some decline in the final stages of the match, after she committed a double fault on the first match point.
But she succeeded in delivering powerful enough groundstrokes to impose control on most points. She also sometimes resorted to short balls and ended exchanges at the net after high balls from her opponent.
Sabalenka started the year with great strength, winning the Brisbane tournament and reaching the final of the Australian Championship, where she lost to Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina in three sets.
She quickly responded to that loss by achieving the “Sunshine Double” by winning the Indian Wells and Miami titles, but she has not competed for any title since then.
She was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the French Championship, then was eliminated from the Wimbledon Championship in the fourth round by Japanese Naomi Osaka.
In the men's competition, Frenchman Artur Wiess, the recent champion of the Cincinnati Masters, was disappointed by leaving his first match against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-4.
Wiess (22 years old) entered the match amidst the highest expectations in his career, after this month he became the first French player to win a title in the 1000-point Masters tournament in more than a decade.
The French player had won all five of his previous confrontations with Tsitsipas.
"I'm speechless, I don't know what to say," said Tsitsipas, formerly ranked among the top five in the world, who fell to 53rd place.
"It's a great start to the tournament," he added.
© 2026 AFP
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