Svitolina and Kostyuk Advance Past First Round of US Open 2026: Draw Sets Up Head-to-Head Semifinal for Ukrainians

The final "major" of the 2026 season, the US Open, got off to a strong start for Ukrainian tennis with two convincing victories. Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk, the country's No. 1 and No. 2 players, confidently won their first-round matches in New York and moved closer to a potential head-to-head clash at a late stage of the tournament, as reported by Sport RBC.UA.

Confident Start in New York

Marta Kostyuk opened her tournament run with a convincing win over Australia's Storm Hunter, defeating her opponent in two sets. Elina Svitolina, who the day before reached the mixed doubles semifinal alongside her husband Gael Monfils, confidently knocked out Argentina's Solana Sierra in singles. Thus, both leaders of domestic tennis kept the intrigue alive and advanced to the second round.

Second-Round Opponents

In the second round, Svitolina was drawn to face Australia's Maya Joint in their first career head-to-head meeting. Joint had defeated Lyudmyla Samsonova, competing under a neutral flag, in three sets (3:6, 6:2, 6:2). Kostyuk, for her part, awaits a duel with 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, whom Marta recently beat at the Cincinnati tournament. Stephens crushed Denmark's Clara Tauson in the first round (6:4, 6:1).

The Road to a Ukrainian Derby

Both second-round matches for Svitolina and Kostyuk will take place on Wednesday, September 2. If both Ukrainians continue their winning streak, the tournament draw will bring them together in a head-to-head semifinal derby — a scenario already being called one of the main events of the tournament for fans from Ukraine.

Results for the Other Ukrainian Players

Among other Ukrainian representatives, Aleksandra Oleinikova and Yuliia Starodubtseva still have yet to play their first-round matches at the 2026 US Open. Meanwhile, Daria Yastremska, Angelina Kalinina and Daria Snigur have already ended their tournament runs. Against this backdrop, in the men's draw, Novak Djokovic had earlier been eliminated from the US Open, losing at the start of the tournament for the first time in 20 years.