First major US Open upset: Rakhimova knocks out two-time Grand Slam champion Krejčíková
Kamilla Rakhimova produced the first major upset of the women's draw at the 2026 US Open in New York. The representative of Uzbekistan defeated 27th seed Barbora Krejčíková 7:6(4), 6:2 in the first round, eliminating a player who has won two Grand Slam singles titles. According to the WTA report, the match lasted one hour and 53 minutes, and Rakhimova finally sealed the victory on her seventh match point after a dramatic final game. Reuters reported that Krejčíková thus became the first seeded player to be eliminated from this year's main draw. The result made a particular impact because of the difference in experience and reputation: Krejčíková won Roland Garros in 2021 and Wimbledon in 2024, while Rakhimova had never previously advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.
The match was played on August 30, the first day of the main draw at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. Rakhimova arrived in New York unseeded and without the high expectations surrounding former world No. 2 Krejčíková, but from the start she showed that she was ready to match her opponent's more aggressive tempo. The first set was decided in a tie-break, in which Rakhimova remained calmer and won the crucial points to take it 7:4. In the second set she took control even more clearly and, according to the WTA, won the final five games of the match. That finish turned a solid and tactically disciplined performance into one of the most important victories of her career so far.
Six saved match points were not enough for Krejčíková
The most dramatic part of the contest came when Rakhimova served for the victory. Krejčíková saved six match points in the final game, once again demonstrating her ability to survive situations in which a match appears almost lost. The WTA states that Rakhimova nevertheless converted her seventh opportunity and finished the match before the Czech could completely shift the psychological momentum of the closing stages. That moment was particularly interesting because of what had happened to Krejčíková at the same tournament a year earlier. At the 2025 US Open, in the round of 16 against Taylor Townsend, she saved as many as eight match points before winning in three sets, so her reputation as an exceptionally dangerous opponent in match-ending situations was already well established.
After the victory, Rakhimova recalled that she had watched highlights of that match from the previous year and that during the closing stages she tried not to think about Krejčíková's ability to escape from seemingly hopeless situations. In an on-court statement reported by the WTA, she emphasized that the most important thing for her was to keep her emotions under control and finish the job. She managed to do so only after a series of missed opportunities, which adds even more value to the victory. Instead of losing her serve after the squandered match points, she stayed focused and found another opportunity. For a player trying to make a new breakthrough at the biggest tournaments, such a finish can carry as much significance as the result itself.
Statistics published by the WTA also show why Rakhimova managed to impose her own rhythm. Although Krejčíková had a slightly higher first-serve percentage, Rakhimova was considerably more effective when she landed her first serve. She won 72 percent of the points behind her first serve, compared with Krejčíková's 61 percent. That difference was especially evident late in the second set, when the Uzbek representative put together five consecutive games. Against an opponent with the experience of winning the biggest tournaments, stability on serve and the ability to maintain pressure proved decisive.
A victory with personal history as well
The match in New York carried additional symbolism because Rakhimova and Krejčíková had already met at the 2021 US Open. On that occasion, the Czech was more convincing and stopped Rakhimova in the third round, which remains the Uzbek representative's best singles result at a Grand Slam tournament. The WTA recalls that in 2021 Rakhimova entered the main draw as a lucky loser, then defeated Kristina Mladenovic and 32nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova before losing to Krejčíková. Five years later, the balance of power in their head-to-head meeting was different. Rakhimova defeated Krejčíková for the first time and levelled their head-to-head record at one victory apiece.
In the meantime, the 25-year-old Rakhimova went through a period of gradual progress on the WTA Tour. Her official WTA profile states that her career-high singles ranking is No. 60 and that she has so far reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament three times: at the 2021 US Open, 2023 Roland Garros and 2025 Wimbledon. She arrived in New York this year after advancing beyond the first round at the two most recent Grand Slam tournaments, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. With the victory over Krejčíková, for the first time in her career she has reached the second round at three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. The WTA also points out that this is her third victory over a seeded player at one of the four biggest tournaments.
The first two such victories came at different stages of her development. In New York in 2021 she defeated Alexandrova, then the 32nd seed, while at Wimbledon in 2025 she upset fourth seed Jasmine Paolini. Krejčíková, however, is an opponent with a different kind of pedigree: in addition to two Grand Slam singles titles, she has also had an exceptionally successful doubles career. According to official WTA data, she has won seven Grand Slam women's doubles titles and also has three mixed doubles trophies. That is why Rakhimova's victory is not merely a passage into the second round, but a result against a player who has spent years proving that she can adapt to different surfaces, formats and the pressure of the biggest tournaments.
Krejčíková denied the chance to defend last year's quarterfinal
For Krejčíková, the defeat is particularly unpleasant because she reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 US Open. On her way to the last eight, she defeated Taylor Townsend, among others, in the aforementioned marathon in which she saved eight match points, before Jessica Pegula stopped her. This year her tournament ended immediately at the beginning, even though as the 27th seed she had been projected to remain in the draw considerably longer. Official WTA data confirm that Krejčíková has won Roland Garros and Wimbledon during her career and that her best results in New York were quarterfinal appearances in 2021 and 2025. The early defeat therefore also means a significant loss of ranking points she was defending from last season.
Throughout her career, Krejčíková has often experienced periods in which her consistency was limited by physical problems, but when healthy she has shown that she can defeat the best players in the world. Her 2021 Roland Garros title was her first Grand Slam singles trophy, and three years later she won Wimbledon by defeating Jasmine Paolini in the final. Her official WTA profile also states that she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 2. For all those reasons, the defeat to Rakhimova belongs to the category of results that change the shape of one section of the draw right at the start of a tournament. Players who were in Krejčíková's projected path now have a more open route, while Rakhimova gets an opportunity to try to reach the third round of the US Open again for the first time since 2021.
In the second round, Rakhimova will play the winner of the match between Aoi Ito and Oksana Selekhmeteva, which according to the official schedule is set for August 31. That means she will not immediately face another seeded player after her major victory, but the first-round result simultaneously raises expectations. Even before the tournament continued, the WTA pointed out that this section of the draw gives her a realistic opportunity to make further progress. Rakhimova's challenge will be to quickly move on from the emotionally demanding victory over Krejčíková and refocus on an opponent who does not carry the burden of being the favorite. In the Grand Slam format, the ability to reproduce the same level after a major upset is often just as important as defeating the seeded player itself.
Pegula opens her home Grand Slam without major problems
While Krejčíková unexpectedly saw her campaign come to an end, Jessica Pegula justified her status as one of the leading favorites in the women's draw. The third seed defeated Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6:3, 6:2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to advance to the second round. The official US Open website states that the match lasted one hour and 23 minutes. Pegula finished the match with 26 winners and 14 unforced errors, while creating as many as 17 break-point opportunities and converting four of them. The result was convincing, although the American later admitted that she had felt very nervous before stepping onto the court.
The first set did not begin entirely smoothly for Pegula. In a long third game she failed to convert eight break points, allowing Ruse to prevent the score from separating early. Pegula then saved a break point on her own serve and, a few games later, finally broke her opponent's serve and took control. She completed the first set after 49 minutes and was even more stable in the second. According to the US Open report, she lost only two points in her first three service games of the second set, then moved ahead 4:2 and won the final four games of the match.
For Pegula, the successful start is also important in the context of the entire season. Before and after her opening appearance, the US Open highlighted that the 32-year-old American had played five finals during 2026, more than any other player on Tour at that point, and had won titles in Dubai and Charleston. Immediately before New York she reached the finals in Washington and Cincinnati, confirming that she entered the North American part of the season in very good form. Pegula is also the world No. 3 and the third seed at the US Open, and the tournament's official website states that by winning the title in New York she could reach No. 1 in the WTA rankings for the first time. Such a scenario adds further importance to every round, although her public approach after defeating Ruse focused above all on calming her initial tension.
Last year's finalist back in the spotlight
Pegula also has a strong record in New York. She achieved her greatest Grand Slam success precisely at the 2024 US Open, when she reached the final. On her way to the championship match, she defeated Iga Swiatek, among others, before losing the title to Aryna Sabalenka in the final. A year later she again made a deep run in the tournament and defeated Krejčíková in the quarterfinals. Therefore, her comfortable first-round victory in 2026 is not merely a routine passage by a seeded player, but a continuation of a very consistent run at a tournament where she has regularly played an important role in recent seasons.
According to the official draw, Pegula will play the winner of the all-American match between Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin in the second round. That first-round match was scheduled for later on August 30 local time in New York, or in the early hours of August 31 Central European Time. If she clears that obstacle as well, Pegula will continue through a section of the draw in which she was clearly identified as one of the favorites before the tournament began. The US Open states that this is her tenth appearance in the tournament's main draw. Her experience, current form and the fact that she is playing in front of crowds in the state where she was born make her one of the players who will remain under close attention throughout the entire first week.
Early shock in the women's draw
The first day of the US Open thus already produced two completely different stories among the leading names in the women's tournament. Pegula lived up to expectations with controlled play and advanced without dropping a set, while Krejčíková became the first seeded player to be eliminated. At the same time, Rakhimova showed just how quickly Grand Slam tournaments can alter the projected course of the draw. Her victory did not come because of one brief drop in level from the favored opponent, but after almost two hours of play, a won tie-break and a closing sequence in which she had to survive her own string of missed match points. The manner of the victory gives the result additional weight.
For Rakhimova, a different kind of test now begins. After defeating a two-time Grand Slam champion, she will no longer enter her next match with the same degree of underdog freedom, while a potential place in the third round would equal her best US Open result. For Krejčíková, on the other hand, there remains the disappointment of an early exit and the fact that she will not be able to defend last year's quarterfinal result. Pegula, meanwhile, opened the tournament in a way that confirms why she is among the world's highest-ranked players. Already after the opening matches, it is clear that the women's draw in New York will offer a combination of expected victories by favorites and surprises capable of opening opportunities for players outside the seeded group.
Sources:
- WTA - analysis of Kamilla Rakhimova's victory over Barbora Krejčíková, match statistics and post-match comments (link)
- US Open - official report on Jessica Pegula's victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse and match statistics (link)
- WTA - official profile and Grand Slam results of Kamilla Rakhimova (link)
- WTA - official profile and results overview of Barbora Krejčíková, including Grand Slam titles (link)
- Reuters / The Straits Times - report from the first day of the US Open and confirmation that Krejčíková was the first seeded player eliminated (link)
- WTA - 2026 US Open overview and list of seeds in the women's tournament (link)