Sabalenka dominates at US Open as rain disrupts tournament

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, celebrates winning a match against Polina Iatcenko, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Aryna Sabalenka made a huge statement at the US Open, cruising into the third round with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Polina Iatcenko in just 53 minutes. The world No. 1 looked sharp and powerful after arriving in New York under pressure following a string of early exits. Sabalenka was nearly flawless on her first serve, winning 15 of 16 points in the opening set and 21 of 28 overall. She is aiming to become the first woman since Serena Williams from 2012-14 to win three straight US Open titles. “Happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match,” she said. Third seed Jessica Pegula also reached the third round quickly, defeating Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in 56 minutes. “To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn’t always happen,” Pegula said. “So I think I’m just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round.”

Rain causes more delays

Rain continued to disrupt the tournament, with matches on outside courts repeatedly stopped while play under the roofs at Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium continued.

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The weather also forced several players to wait days before completing their opening matches. Spain’s Paula Badosa eventually beat Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-4, while Australia’s Alex de Minaur finally began his campaign with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Andrea Guerrieri. “It’s been a couple tough days. But I mean, these tournaments, it's all about adapting and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said. “There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you.” The first round was finally completed Wednesday night, with 25 men’s singles matches played as organisers tried to recover from the delays. Several seeded players, including Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev and Karolina Muchova, also advanced.

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