Third seed FĂ©lix Auger-Aliassime knocked out of US Open after sudden health problems
Karen Khachanov produced one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 US Open so far by eliminating third seed FĂ©lix Auger-Aliassime in the second round of the men's singles tournament. The Russian tennis player, who arrived in New York ranked 50th in the world and unseeded, defeated the Canadian 6:7 (5), 6:3, 6:2, 6:2 in a match played on September 3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center complex in New York's Flushing Meadows. The result itself was a major surprise, but the sporting aspect of the story soon became secondary because of the health problems Auger-Aliassime described after the match. According to him, after approximately a set and a half he began feeling dizzy, spots started appearing before his eyes, and his body was not recovering between points and games as it normally did. The Canadian announced medical examinations because, at the time the match ended, it was not clear what had caused the symptoms.
Auger-Aliassime said after the defeat that he had felt normal during the previous days and during his morning warm-up and that he had shown no signs suggesting a problem. It was precisely the suddenness of the episode that caused additional concern for the 26-year-old, who described the situation as unusual compared with the fatigue and cramps he had experienced during his career. Reports about his condition during the match also mentioned cramps, but the player himself stressed that he had experienced such problems before, whereas the dizziness, visual disturbances and inability to recover were something different this time. According to statements reported after the match, he also considered the possibility of retiring, but continued playing in the hope that his condition would improve. That did not happen, and Khachanov took control more and more convincingly from one set to the next.
From a good start to a sudden decline
The beginning of the match did not suggest such an outcome. Auger-Aliassime took a 3:0 lead in the first set and appeared ready to impose his rhythm against an opponent who had been going through a difficult stretch of results before the tournament. Khachanov nevertheless recovered quickly, and the two powerful hitters exchanged breaks before the first set was decided in a tie-break. The Canadian won it 7:5 and, after more than an hour of play, took a 1:0 lead in sets. Official statistics and tournament reports show that after that the balance of power began to shift clearly in Khachanov's favor.
The Russian gained an early advantage in the second set and moved 3:0 ahead, while Auger-Aliassime failed to take the opportunities that arose on his opponent's serve. Khachanov closed out the set 6:3, after which he again made an early break at the beginning of the third part of the match. The Canadian found it increasingly difficult to hold serve as the match progressed, and the problem was further compounded by double faults and a large number of unforced errors. According to data published after the match, Auger-Aliassime finished with 47 unforced errors and eight double faults, while Khachanov had 30 unforced errors. Both players recorded 12 aces, but the Russian tennis player was considerably more successful when he had opportunities to break serve.
During three hours and 20 minutes of play, Khachanov earned 20 break points and converted seven, while Auger-Aliassime converted two of his nine opportunities. Reuters reported that the Russian saved seven of nine break points, and with the victory he recorded only the second win of his career against a world top-10 player at Grand Slam tournaments. Particularly important was the pattern that repeated itself after the first set: Khachanov broke his opponent's serve early in each of the next three sets, further increasing the pressure. He won the third and fourth sets by the identical score of 6:2, while Auger-Aliassime found it increasingly difficult to maintain the level of movement and intensity required for an even contest.
Auger-Aliassime: "I couldn't recover"
After the match, the Canadian did not try to explain the defeat through tactics or individual tennis details. Speaking to reporters, he said that after a set and a half he began feeling dizzy and "seeing spots", along with the sensation that he could not recover. He added that at first he thought the problems would pass, but that did not happen. He also emphasized that he had never before felt exactly the same way, although during his career he had gone through cramps and the usual fatigue in the closing stages of demanding matches. In his assessment, this was unusual enough to require additional medical checks.
At the same time, Auger-Aliassime did not diminish the quality of his opponent. He called Khachanov a very good player, but explained that in the condition he was in he could not have expected to win against him or against any other opponent in the draw. He particularly stressed that without normal movement, analysis of the match was no longer a question of tennis in the narrower sense, which was why he regretted that after the match he could not discuss tactical details and shots he might have executed better. According to AFP and other media outlets that reported from the press conference, the Canadian said he would undergo tests and try to determine what had caused his body's sudden reaction.
For now, there is no officially confirmed diagnosis. This means it is not possible to reliably conclude whether the symptoms were related to heat, dehydration, a previous injury, a virus, exhaustion or some other cause. Khachanov said after the match that he noticed his opponent physically fading, but did not want to speculate about the reason. He said that such situations are part of professional sport, wished Auger-Aliassime a speedy recovery if it was an injury or another health problem, and emphasized that for his part he tried to remain focused and fight until the end.
Khachanov takes his opportunity after a difficult summer
For Khachanov, the victory in New York carries additional significance because of his position before the tournament. The former world top-10 player and 2022 US Open semifinalist arrived at the season's final Grand Slam ranked 50th on the ATP rankings, his lowest position in almost ten years. Reuters reported that he had lost his opening match at each of three hard-court warm-up tournaments before the US Open, so he did not enter the match against the third seed as the favorite. That is precisely why the victory over Auger-Aliassime represents an important result in a season in which he had been searching for stability and a return to form.
Khachanov said after the match that he was satisfied above all with the fact that he endured a demanding contest and stayed in the fight. His game was not without errors, but in the crucial moments he was steady enough to take advantage of the decline in his opponent's level. His powerful serve and deep groundstrokes were particularly helpful, and on several important points he found solutions with his backhand down the line. In a match in which the physical condition of one player became the main topic, Khachanov still had to finish the job on court, and the statistics show that he was more successful in almost all the key situations involving service games and break points.
With the victory, he took a 3:2 lead in his head-to-head record with Auger-Aliassime. At the same time, according to Reuters, he reached at least the third round at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year for the first time. That statistic highlights a certain paradox in his season: although his ATP ranking had fallen and he arrived at the US Open unseeded, at the biggest tournaments he managed to maintain a level sufficient to get through the early stages of competition. A new challenge awaits him in the third round, and the tournament draw will determine whether he can turn his victory over the third seed into a deeper run in New York.
A major blow for one of the tournament favorites
Auger-Aliassime's elimination is particularly significant because he arrived in New York as one of the highest-ranked players in the draw. The official US Open draw preview before the start of the tournament listed him as the third seed, behind Alexander Zverev and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The Canadian tennis player also had a very strong record at Flushing Meadows: he reached the semifinals in 2021 and again in 2025. He was stopped in the closing stages of last year's tournament, so in 2026 he was once again expected to be one of the candidates for a deep run.
His form during the season also justified the high expectations. At the beginning of August, the ATP announced that Auger-Aliassime had reached what was then a career-best world ranking of No. 4, with a 30-14 win-loss record and a title won in Montpellier. At Wimbledon he reached the quarterfinals, but then had to withdraw from the Montreal Masters because of a back problem. At the time, he explained that the pain had appeared suddenly during practice and that he was practically unable to serve, which meant he did not even begin his appearance in front of his home crowd.
In mid-August, he returned to the court in Cincinnati, where in his first match after 40 days he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, followed by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, before losing to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. According to the ATP, he was ranked fourth in the world at the time of his return. That is why the early defeat in New York was unexpected not only because of his seeded status but also because it followed a period in which he appeared to have recovered from his back problem. It is important, however, that Auger-Aliassime did not link the current symptoms to that injury and that there is currently no official confirmation of such a connection.
Tests to follow, then an important Davis Cup date
The most important question after the elimination is no longer related to ATP points or rankings, but to the Canadian tennis player's health. Auger-Aliassime announced that after returning from New York he would speak with doctors and members of his team and undergo tests. Until the results of those examinations are known, the cause of the dizziness and visual disturbances remains unknown. In professional tennis, where Grand Slam matches are played as best-of-five sets and can last several hours, the body's ability to maintain energy, hydration, temperature and concentration is crucial, but symptoms such as those described by Auger-Aliassime can have different causes and should not be reduced to a single assumption without medical assessment.
The recovery timeline is also important because of the next major national-team engagement. According to the official Davis Cup schedule, Canada is due to host France on September 18 and 19, 2026, in the second round of qualifying at Centre Vidéotron in Québec City. Auger-Aliassime had previously been announced as one of the key players for the Canadian team, and the official Davis Cup website highlighted his return in front of the home crowd as one of the main events of the national-team cycle. Whether he will be able to play as planned following the health problems in New York will depend on the results of the examinations and the assessment of his team.
For the US Open, his defeat further changes the picture of the men's draw. The third seed left the tournament as early as the second round, while Khachanov showed just how dangerous an unseeded player can be when he has experience in the closing stages of Grand Slam tournaments. On the other hand, Auger-Aliassime's case served as a reminder of how quickly a sporting story can change when a health problem occurs without warning. The day after the match, September 4, 2026, the only certainty is that his campaign in New York is over and that the next step will be an attempt to determine the cause of the symptoms that prevented him from playing the match at his usual level.
Sources:
- US Open / USTA - official draw preview and Auger-Aliassime's status as the third seed, as well as tournament information (link)
- Reuters / Channel NewsAsia - result, course of the match, break-point statistics, Khachanov's statements and context of his ranking (link)
- AFP - Auger-Aliassime's statements about dizziness, visual disturbances, planned medical examinations and his previous back injury (link)
- ATP Tour - withdrawal from Montreal because of a back injury, his ranking at the time and Auger-Aliassime's season record (link)
- ATP Tour - return to the court in Cincinnati after 40 days and form ahead of the US Open (link)
- Davis Cup - schedule of the Canada - France qualifying tie in Québec City on September 18 and 19, 2026 (link)