US Open 2026: Pegula cruises past Ruse, Venus Williams falls to Kenin in late-night thriller
Jessica Pegula opened her 2026 US Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse and now faces an all-American clash with Sofia Kenin, who eliminated 46-year-old Venus Williams in a rain-delayed night match. French player Arthur Gea also took to the court in the opening rounds.
Pegula makes a confident start
World No. 3 Jessica Pegula opened her 2026 US Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, according to WTA Tennis. The match had its share of drama: in the third game, Ruse saved eight break points across a 15-minute, 34-second game before finally holding serve. Pegula took the first set in just over 50 minutes and closed out the second by sweeping the final four games, finishing the match in roughly 80 minutes overall. The 2024 finalist will next face fellow American Sofia Kenin in the second round on Wednesday — Pegula leads their head-to-head 4-2, including a win in their most recent hard-court meeting, the 2024 US Open second round.
Venus Williams' run ends past midnight
Kenin, playing on a wildcard, booked her spot in round two well after midnight following rain delays earlier in the day, beating 46-year-old Venus Williams. WTA Tennis reports the score as 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), while Just Women's Sports lists it as 6-2, 7-6 (6) — the two sources differ slightly on the tiebreak score. According to Just Women's Sports, it marked Williams' 26th US Open appearance. Elsewhere on the day, No. 9 Elina Svitolina and No. 11 Marta Kostyuk also advanced to the second round.
Looking ahead — and a French debut
Monday's schedule features top seed Aryna Sabalenka along with Iga Świątek, Amanda Anisimova and Naomi Osaka, while Tuesday's slate includes Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva and Alexandra Eala. "Expectations are high — US Open can be the one you feel the most pressure at, just being an American you want to succeed," Gauff said ahead of the tournament.
Per Eurosport's report on Saturday's order of play, several French players were also in action in the early rounds: Arthur Gea faced American Michael Zheng on the Grandstand court, while Benjamin Bonzi took on Karen Khachanov chasing what would be his eighth win of the tournament. The sources do not report the results of either match.
