Gauff Beats Sonmez at US Open

Coco Gauff beat Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the 2026 US Open on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The No. 4 seed and 2023 champion opened the night session in straight sets, held nine of ten service games, and never let the Turkish No. 53 turn Ashe into a problem.

This was the first lights-up match of the evening. Gauff treated it like a work shift. First serve, short points, and a clean close. Sonmez had never played her before. By the end she had zero aces and two double faults. Gauff's doubles ranking sits at 143 these days. Singles is still the job. On Ashe at night, that job starts with holding serve and ending rallies early.

How Gauff took both sets

Tennis.com had Gauff landing 62 percent of first serves (41 of 66) and winning 71 percent of those points. Second-serve points sat at 73 percent. She hit five aces and faced only five break points all night, saving four of them.

Sonmez put half her first serves in play and won 69 percent of those. The second-serve side fell apart, 42 percent. Gauff converted three of six break points and broke return games at a 33 percent clip. The first set closed 6-3. The second followed the same shape, 6-4.

What the night session looked like

Ashe under the lights is still Gauff's room. She won this title here three years ago. Tuesday was Round 1, not a final, and she played it that way. Sonmez, 24 and ranked 53, had already shown she can hang at majors this year. She reached the Australian Open third round and beat Jasmine Paolini in Stuttgart. None of that showed up in the ace column against Gauff.

Gauff finished with three double faults of her own and still held 90 percent of her service games. The only break she dropped did not snowball. She reset, held, and closed.

What is next

Day three already had Aryna Sabalenka through and Iga Swiatek through before Gauff walked out. The American just needed a clean start. She got one.

Sonmez won only one of five break points and six of nine service games. Gauff won eight of 26 first-return points and 14 of 24 second-return points. That return gap, plus five aces, is why the night session opener never became a story. Second round waits with whoever survives the other half of that section. For Ashe's first lights-up match, a 6-3, 6-4 box score was enough.