Medvedev advances to US Open Round 3 after defeating Gorzny
Quick Look
- Daniil Medvedev defeated Sebastian Gorzny in straight sets to reach the third round of the 2026 US Open in New York.
- The Russian player, competing under neutral status due to IOC sanctions, will face the winner of the Rinderknech-Munar match next.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been barred from international tournaments since February 2022 following IOC recommendations related to the special military operation in Ukraine. The ITF suspended their national federations and banned national teams from Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup events.
NEW YORK, September 2. /TASS/. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev advanced to Round 3 of the 2026 US Open after he defeated Sebastian Gorzny of the United States on Wednesday.
The Russian tennis player, who plays under a neutral status at international tournaments, outplayed his US opponent Gorzny in straight sets 6-1; 6-3; 7-5 and is now set to play in the next round against the winner of the duel between French Arthur Rinderknech (26th-seed) and Juame Munar of Spain (unseeded).
Medvedev, 30, spent sixteen weeks as the world’s number one player in 2022. He is currently ranked 8th in the ATP Rankings. He previously won the 2021 US Open and holds 23 ATP titles. He won five of those 23 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.
The 2026 US Open is played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York between August 30 and September 13. The tournament will award a record $108 million in prize money. Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz are the tournament’s reigning champions in women’s and men’s singles respectively.
Russian tennis players are participating in international tournaments under a neutral status. The US Open is no exception.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Medvedev will face the winner of the Rinderknech-Munar match in the next round
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- How long will the neutral status requirement remain in place for Russian and Belarusian tennis players?
- Will the ITF reconsider its stance on national team participation in future years?
