Tennis News: Elena Rybakina managed to overcome various obstacles, ranging from a 4-hour delay in the match due to rain, worries about injuries, the pressure of trying to catch world number 1, to a young opponent with a hard blow, to progress smoothly through the first round of the 2026 US Open season.
The second seed beat 17-year-old wild card Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the US Open which lasted 1 hour 14 minutes.
The Kazakh tennis player has not competed since a left ankle injury forced him to withdraw in the middle of the Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek two weeks ago. Ahead of the Grand Slam in New York, he stated that his condition “should be very good” when it comes time to compete.
In the next two weeks, there is a golden opportunity for the 2026 Australian Open champion to move up to world number 1 for the first time in his career. She needs to reach the semifinals to be sure, but if none of Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, or Cori Gauff wins the Grand Slam title, she will become world No. 1 regardless of the outcome of her match.
The second seed looked determined to secure the top spot in his own way with a clean and concentrated performance. World number 585, Frodin played her first career match in a WTA tournament after getting a wild card thanks to her victory at the USTA National Championships in the Women’s U-18 category this month. He also showed promising potential through a powerful game that relied on a strong serve.
Frodin even managed to beat the Kazakh tennis player in terms of serve speed — recording a top speed of 122 miles per hour compared to the Kazakh tennis player’s 120 miles per hour — as well as the number of aces, with 11 aces compared to the Kazakh player’s six.
Five of those aces came in a remarkable second-to-last game, including three on match point as Frodin struggled to maintain his position in the match.
“Her shot is great, especially her serve. She has a powerful style of play — I think that’s extraordinary — and now it’s just a matter of experience, maintaining stability and increasing playing time in the match,” said Rybakina.
“However, he does have the quality of his game. He can be very dangerous with that type of shot. When I had the opportunity to observe his playing style before, it was not easy to understand it. Firstly, because he hasn’t played many matches and secondly, because the characteristics of his opponents were different. So, I knew this could be a challenge. In my opinion, he has great potential and a great game.”
However, the downside to Frodin’s game came when he committed 21 unforced errors and his inexperience showed when he committed three double fouls to take a double break in the second set. Instead, Rybakina brought consistency and a superior return game to complement her serve before ultimately emerging victorious.
For a place in the third round of the US Open, Rybakina will face a Spanish tennis player, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro or a Czech tennis player, Darja Vidmanova.
In the same draw, 32nd seed Maria Sakkari beat the host’s Robin Montgomery 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and will be Yuliia Starodubtseva’s opponent in the second round of the US Open after the Ukrainian beat German Ella Seidel 6-2, 6-2.
Article Tag: us open, maria sakkari, elena rybakina, yuliia starodubtseva
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/hasil-us-open-kesampingkan-hamban-elena-rybakina-megli-di-new-york