I can’t lie, part of me wondered if Andreeva would ever win a slam. Not because I doubted her talent, but because I feared that at some point in every major, she’d be out-hit by an opponent with a bigger but not necessarily better game. In the event, though, her preternatural grasp of the game is worth more than a few mph, the question no longer how but how many.
Word up and welcome to the US Open 2026 – day nine!
We’re 4-4 in the doubles and knocking up on Ashe. Thinking more about the match, I’d expect Townsend to use top spin to hit cross at Sabalenka’s backhand, taking her outside the lines if possible. She’ll also try and slow the game down, I think, and frustrate the champ, who doesn’t enjoy the wind-ups.
Townsend comes out wearing a coat that wouldn’t be out of place in the Night’s Watch, photo to follow but, in the meantime:
Australian wildcard loses 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to Luciano Darderi
Sweeney frustrated by loss but says he had ‘an amazing week’
Dane Sweeny’s gallant and “career-changing” US Open campaign has come to a frustrating end with a tough third-round loss to seeded Italian Luciano Darderi.
Sweeny complained of a hip injury during the 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 defeat to the world No 22 that left Australia without a second-week singles hope in New York for the first time in five years.
Australian No 1 falls to Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
Wildcard Dane Sweeny last Australian standing in New York
Alex de Minaur has blown his best opportunity to claim a maiden grand slam crown after crashing out in the US Open second round in New York. Australia’s world No 7 slumped to a shock straight-sets loss to Botic van de Zandschulp, the Dutchman he had beaten in all four of their previous meetings.
In a demoralising display, De Minaur dropped serve five times and only broke his 70th-ranked opponent once in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 defeat on Thursday (Friday AEST). He also racked up 30 unforced errors compared to just 23 winners in the two-hour, 43-minute upset on The Grandstand.
Australian free to play again after having suspension reduced
ITIA accepts Kyrgios’s use of cocaine was outside of competition
Fallen Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has entered a treatment program after accepting a one-month ban for testing positive to cocaine.
After admitting his “huge mistake” when initially suspended for failing a drugs test on June 22 at an ATP 250 tournament in Spain, Kyrgios is allowed to compete again from Friday.
In the hunt to be the first American to end the Grand Slam drought, Frances Tiafoe is hoping to channel the Knicks’ championship energy while he’s in Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open, defeating Rei Sakamoto in three sets in front of noted celebrity Knicks fan Ben Stiller on Wednesday night, and was asked afterward about the noticeable number of fans wearing Knicks gear at this year’s tournament.
Tiafoe, whose sporting allegiance lies with the Washington, D.C. teams, first pretended not to know who the Knicks were before suggesting he hoped to use some of their positive vibes to help him in this year’s U.S. Open.
Frances Tiafoe reacts after his straight-set win over Rei Sakamoto during the second round of the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 2026 at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Getty Images
“Hopefully I can go off that Knicks energy, even though I’m a huge DC Sports fan. That was nuts, man. What a run. Happy for them,” Tiafoe said.
He said that he had reached out to Stiller, a fan of Tiafoe’s and has previously been spotted at events cheering him on, to congratulate him on the Knicks’ victory.
“I texted them to say congrats to them. Yeah, I mean these guys were going to San Antonio and everything, so they were really locked in. It was great, man,” Tiafoe added.
The 28-year-old couldn’t let the moment pass to make one bold prediction about his Wizards, though.
Actor Ben Stiller in the stands after Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. wins his second-round match against Japan’s Rei Sakamoto on Sept. 2, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters
“But Wizards will win the ‘ship next year, so it’s cool,” Tiafoe said.
Tiafoe is one of several American players whom tennis fans have pinned their hopes on to win a Grand Slam title in Queens for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2003.
He will face Valentin Vacherot in the third round and said that he has not played him yet in his career.
The Knicks won the NBA Finals in June to take the crown for the first time since 1973. Charles Wenzelberg / NY Post
In terms of preparation, his plan is simple.
Watch some tape, be the student,” Tiafoe said. “Watching runs, see who he has played, what have you. I’ll know a decent amount in a couple of days.”
Australia’s No 1 beats Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 after delays
Taylah Preston and Daria Kasatkina bow out after first-round defeats
After having his tournament opener against Andrea Guerrieri postponed until day four, Alex de Minaur had to endure another two-hour rain delay before putting away the Italian qualifier in straight sets.
The world No 7 advanced with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory to set up a second-round clash with Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
German scrapes home 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 in thriller
‘I think this is the longest first-round match I’ve played’
Alexander Zverev rallied just in time to avoid becoming the first men’s No 1 seed to lose in the first round of a grand slam tournament since 2003, edging Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 in a US Open match that ended in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Zverev could not cash in on repeated chances to break Sonego’s serve for much of the night and was in danger of becoming the first top-seeded man to fall in his first match in a major tournament since Ivo Karlovic beat Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2003.
Japanese player wears Iverson’s signature cornrows
Outfit also has newspaper clippings about Osaka
Naomi Osaka channeled former NBA star Allen Iverson before her US Open first-round victory over Anastasia Zakharova on Monday.
Osaka made her usual fashionable entrance for her tournament opener, which she won in straight sets. The two-time US Open champion emerged on to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing a long, white skirt and a gray, hooded robe featuring newspaper clippings about her.
Kim Birrell, Maya Joint and James Duckworth advance on day two
Birrell plans to spend $265,000 pay day on upcoming wedding
An elated Kim Birrell plans on paying down her mortgage after surviving a match point and a restless night’s sleep to chalk up a life-changing US Open win in New York.
The gritty Gold Coaster wore down Croatian Petra Marcinko 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to finally reach the second round after losing all three of her previous Flushing Meadows openers in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Katie Boulter: ‘I’ve experienced it. I’m not a huge fan’
Britain’s US Open hopefuls thought they had put the grass behind them when Wimbledon finished, but the smell of it is all around Flushing Meadows and they are not happy about it.
Marijuana is legal for adults in New York and while smoking is not allowed on site, the aroma of weed wafts over some outside courts from the nearby Corona Park.
The women’s singles champion at SW19 on her off-court passions, growing up in Czechia, and the aftermath of achieving her dream
Linda Noskova has spent almost her entire life working towards mastering her sport. She began travelling around Czechia, Europe and then the world for tournaments before she was a teenager. Her life decisions have revolved around tennis for as long as she can remember.
Those early years prepared Noskova for the challenge of winning her first grand slam title, but the biggest lesson from her triumph at Wimbledon last month has been her lack of preparedness for everything that followed. The world did not come to a halt upon the completion of her ultimate goal. Life continues at the same pace, and now she must find her place in the sport once more.
