US Open 2026: Alex Eala, Naomi Osaka And Coco Gauff Advance; No 3 Auger-Aliassime Suffers Shock Exit

Alex Eala pushed into the U.S. Open weekend rounds. Backed by an energetic crowd, she secured her spot alongside two-time tournament winner Naomi Osaka and 2023 champion Coco Gauff.

Madison Keys made it through too — barely — but No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime did not. The Canadian was the highest-seeded player knocked out so far, and No. 6 Alex de Minaur’s straight-sets loss to Botic van de Zandschulp made it four top-10 men eliminated before the third round.

Eala secured her third-round spot Thursday. The 17th seed from the Philippines dispatched Oleksandra Oliynykova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Earlier in the day, Osaka overcame a second-set stumble against Katerina Siniakova to close out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 triumph.

Doubles play also began, though Serena and Venus Williams won’t play their first-round match until Friday night against Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint, who beat Serena in singles play at Wimbledon this summer.

Eala started fast. She claimed the contest's opening nine points against her Ukrainian rival, who had defeated her in their only previous match, sparking roars from her vocal supporters.

“I think everybody represents something in their own way; I’m Filipino and I proudly represent that,” Eala said. “And a lot of the crowd here today is Filipino and I’m sure they share in that sentiment.”

Osaka stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium in white. She wore a silver-and-white outfit under a long jacket and a visor. Three days earlier, she had honored former NBA star Allen Iverson during her night opener, sporting black attire with cornrows beneath a headband.

The No. 13 seed won the opening set in 30 minutes and then built a 4-2 lead in the second. Her level then dipped, and she finished the set with 20 unforced errors after making only four in the first.

Osaka reset rapidly in the decider. She broke serve to establish a 2-0 advantage, then punctuated a 19-shot exchange with a crisp volley winner to secure the subsequent game, showing visible relief rather than celebration.

“The match was definitely really tough and I don’t know, I just felt like I had to fight,” Osaka said. “I definitely had a couple opportunities in the second set and I think I was a little bit too hard on myself. So I took the bathroom break, regrouped a little, came back and just tried to have no regrets.”

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Auger-Aliassime, Keys Survive

Auger-Aliassime struggled physically during his match. Dizziness and visual spots hampered him throughout the contest, preventing a comeback as Karen Khachanov sealed a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory, Auger-Aliassime said.

“Karen is a great player. Look, I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” the Canadian said. “If I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here.”

The highest seed to fall so far had been No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who lost in the first round at the U.S. Open for the first time in the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s career.

Keys, the 2017 runner-up, was nearly knocked out early herself before erasing five match points and edging Anna Bondar 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (10-5).

“That was something, huh? No stress, though, we all knew I had it right?” Keys joked to the fans afterward.

Other winners included 2022 champion Iga Swiatek and 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova. Taylor Fritz, the 2024 men’s runner-up, eased to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Mattia Bellucci, while fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli defeated Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Gauff Moves On

Gauff, who won her first major title at Flushing Meadows three years ago, moved on by beating Paula Badosa 6-4, 7-6 (5) under the lights on Ashe in just under two hours. Badosa was playing for a third consecutive day, forced to finish her first-round match Wednesday after play was suspended Tuesday because of rain that hampered the tournament for multiple days.

“Paula's a tough player,” Gauff said. “I don't think there was too much I did wrong. I feel like she really stepped it up.”

No. 1 Alexander Zverev was due to meet Quentin Halys in the night session after going five sets to get past Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday, narrowly avoiding becoming the first top seed to lose in the opening round of a men’s major since 2003.

Also in action Thursday night was Gael Monfils, who plans to retire after this year but had won Tuesday on his 40th birthday to extend his Grand Slam career and set up a match against No. 14 Learner Tien.