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26 August 2025
US Open 2025
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September
Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website & app
Home favourite Coco Gauff came through a stern examination of her troublesome serve to beat Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in a competitive US Open first-round match.
Third seed Gauff was far from convincing but did enough to win 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 in almost three hours during Tuesday’s night session at Flushing Meadows.
The 21-year-old American’s serve came under particularly scrutiny given the ongoing troubles with her opening shot.
Days before her home Grand Slam, 2023 champion Gauff reshuffled her team – sacking coach Matt Daly and hiring biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who helped rival Aryna Sabalenka overcome her serving yips.
“It was a tough match, I had chance to win it in straight sets. It wasn’t the best but I’m happy to get through,” Gauff said.
On attempting to improve the reliability of her serve at a critical time, she added: “It has been really tough – mentally exhausting – but I’m trying.”
Gauff made what she described as a “sudden decision” after hitting 16 double faults in her Cincinnati exit against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
The reigning French Open champion’s serve was put under pressure again in a long battle against 79th-ranked Tomjlanovic.
While 18-time major winner Chris Evert believed Gauff’s service motion was generally more in “unison” and “balanced” than previously, she was still broken six times and hit 10 double faults.
The ongoing frailty came to the fore as she tried to serve out the match at 5-4 in the deciding third set.
Tomjlanovic broke back before Gauff, after taking advice from MacMillan, served out at the second attempt with a safer tactic of going deeper down the middle.
The passionate celebration after securing victory – roaring to the heavens – demonstrated her relief at getting over the line.
“She’s got a way to go, confidence-wise, even though she won this match,” added Evert, who was analysing on US television.
Swiatek begins title bid with comfortable win
Getty ImagesWorld number two Iga Swiatek began her bid for a second US Open title with a comfortable straight-set victory over Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.
The Pole, who won a maiden Wimbledon title last month and is the favourite to add a second title at Flushing Meadows to her 2022 triumph, cruised to a 6-1 6-2 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Swiatek hit 26 winners to world number 84 Arango’s five and won 76% of her points on serve without facing a break point.
“It felt great – first matches are not easy to get used to the rhythm and it was a solid match,” she said.
“I am happy that I wasn’t trying to overpower and I was solid.”
The six-time Grand Slam champion warmed up for the final major of the year with victory at the Cincinnati Open – a WTA 1000 event – and looks in fine tune in New York.
Just one day later, she featured in the US Open’s revamped mixed doubles event alongside Casper Ruud where the pair reached the final but missed out to defending champions and doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.
Swiatek took early control of her match against Arango with a break of serve in the fourth game before breaking again for a 5-1 lead and holding to clinch the opening set.
That ruthless form continued into the second set as Swiatek immediately broke her opponent’s serve in the opening game, then again in the seventh, and sealed a dominant win in just over an hour.
Swiatek will face the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens, ranked 66 in the world, in the second round.
Mixed fortunes for Americans
Elsewhere, eighth seed Amanda Anisimova made it safely through to the second round by beating Australian Kim Birrell 6-3 6-2.
American Anisimova, playing her first Grand Slam match since being beaten 6-0 6-0 by Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, hit 17 unforced errors in the opening set but improved markedly in the second.
She won the last five games of the match to set up a second-round meeting with another Australian, teenager Maya Joint.
However, her compatriot Danielle Collins made an early exit for the second consecutive year, winning just two games as she was beaten by Jacqueline Cristian of Romania.
World number 50 Cristian prevailed 6-2 6-0 against 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist Collins, who was hampered by a back injury.
Meanwhile, two-time champion Naomi Osaka – seeded 23rd – cruised past Belgium’s Greet Minnen in a 6-3 6-4 win.
Russian Diana Shnaider, the 20th seed, also went out after Germany’s Laura Siegemund secured a 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3 victory over the 21-year-old.
