--- title: "Svitolina and Kostyuk Advance Past First Round of US Open 2026: Draw Sets Up Head-to-Head Semifinal for Ukrainians" description: "Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk confidently advanced past the first round of the 2026 US Open and will play in the second round on September 2. If their winning streak continues, the draw sets up a head-to-head semifinal for the Ukrainians." date: 2026-09-01T15:02:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/svitolina-kostyuk-us-open-2026-ukrainian-derby tags: [us-open-2026, elina-svitolina, marta-kostyuk, tennis, ukraine-tennis] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Svitolina and Kostyuk Advance Past First Round of US Open 2026: Draw Sets Up Head-to-Head Semifinal for Ukrainians ![Elina Svitolina in a blue tennis dress holding a racket on the US Open-2026 court after her first-round win](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/01/svitolina-kostyuk-us-open-2026-ukrainskoe-derbi/svitolina-kostyuk-us-open-2026-ukrainskoe-derbi-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Svitolina and Kostyuk won their first-round matches at the 2026 US Open. - In the second round (September 2), Svitolina will play Maya Joint, while Kostyuk will face Sloane Stephens. - If their winning streak continues, the draw sets up a head-to-head semifinal match for the Ukrainians. - Yastremska, Kalinina and Snigur were eliminated; Oleinikova and Starodubtseva have not yet played. 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](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/tennis/krok-ukrayinskogo-derbi-svitolina-ta-kostyuk-1788274651.html). ### 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. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [A Step Toward a Ukrainian Derby: Svitolina and Kostyuk Receive New Opponents at the US Open](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/tennis/krok-ukrayinskogo-derbi-svitolina-ta-kostyuk-1788274651.html) - Основной источник: победы в 1-м круге, соперницы 2-го круга (Джойнт, Стивенс), дата 2 сентября, возможный полуфинал. - [Svitolina and Kostyuk Start with Wins at the 2026 US Open: Match Results](https://fakty.com.ua/ru/sport/tenis/20260831-svitolina-ta-kostyuk-startuvaly-z-peremog-na-us-open-2026-rezultaty-matchiv/) - Подтверждает успешный старт обеих теннисисток. - [US Open 2026: Svitolina, Kostyuk and Five Other Ukrainian Players Learn Their First-Round Opponents](https://fakty.com.ua/ru/sport/tenis/20260828-us-open-2026-svitolina-kostyuk-ta-shhe-p-yat-ukrayinok-diznalysya-supernyts-u-pershomu-koli/) - Подтверждает успешный старт обеих теннисисток. - [Svitolina and Kostyuk Start Strongly at the US Open: Results of the Ukrainian Players' Matches](https://24tv.ua/sporttopnews/ru/jelina-svitolina-marta-kostjuk-pervom-kruge-us-open-rezultaty_n3132689) - Подтверждает результаты первого круга. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Who will be Svitolina's and Kostyuk's opponents in the second round of the 2026 US Open? **A:** Svitolina will play Australia's Maya Joint, while Kostyuk will face 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens. The matches will take place on September 2. ### Q: Can Svitolina and Kostyuk meet each other at the tournament? **A:** Yes, if their winning streak continues, the tournament draw will bring them together in a head-to-head semifinal match. ### Q: How did the other Ukrainian players perform at the start of the 2026 US Open? **A:** Daria Yastremska, Angelina Kalinina and Daria Snigur have ended their tournament runs, while Aleksandra Oleinikova and Yuliia Starodubtseva still have to play their first-round matches.