Osaka Wins US Open Opener in Two Tiebreaks

Naomi Osaka beat Anastasia Zakharova 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3) in the first round of the 2026 US Open on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 13th seed needed just over two hours and two tiebreaks to start a chase for a third New York title.

Osaka led 5-2 in the first set and 5-3 in the second. Zakharova, ranked No. 101, fought back both times. Osaka won the first tiebreak on her third set point, then took the second 7-3 after the serve finally clicked.

The serve showed up when it had to

Osaka hit 11 aces, including one on match point. Ten of those aces came in the second set. That pushed her season total to 208, making her only the ninth player to hit 200 or more aces in 2026. The WTA counted this as her 10th Grand Slam match win of the year. She is 10-2 in majors this season, the first time she has reached 10 Slam wins in a year since 12 in 2019.

It was also her 11th hard-court win of 2026, after a Washington semifinal and a Toronto quarterfinal. At the US Open she moved to 9-1 in opening-round matches. The only first-round loss here was to Danielle Collins in 2022.

The Iverson walk-on was the other story

Osaka took the court in a black outfit paying tribute to Allen Iverson, with an all-white gown for the walk-on. "It's my tribute to Iverson," she told the Ashe crowd. "Nike said 'basketball.' So I said, OK, you want basketball, I'll give you basketball." AP also noted the look while listing her with the other past champions who advanced Monday, including Carlos Alcaraz in his return from a wrist injury.

Zakharova is now 0-8 against top-20 players, all in straight sets. All four of her Grand Slam first-round losses this year came against top-15 seeds.

Who does Osaka play next?

Katerina Siniakova is next after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Osaka leads the head-to-head 2-1, with wins in Doha in 2018 and at Wimbledon in 2025. Siniakova's only win was the 2019 French Open third round, when Osaka was the top seed.

Osaka now has 79 Grand Slam match wins. Li Na (90) and Ai Sugiyama (84) still sit ahead among Asian players. For one loud night on Ashe, the number that mattered was simpler: two tiebreaks, 11 aces, and a second-round spot. The first round here still makes her nervous. She got through it anyway, in the building where she has already won twice.