US Open news 2026

Four Australian stars have secured a cheque of at least $260,000 thanks to their stellar displays to win through to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday (AEST).

Kim Birrell, Maya Joint, James Duckworth and Alexei Popyrin all dropped the opening set in their first round matches, but all four grit their teeth and rallied to victory.

Birrell was the first of the quartet to hit the court on Tuesday, picking up her suspended match in a second set tiebreaker in a precarious position after losing the first set on Monday (AEST). Her return to the court could have lasted just minutes had she got off on the wrong foot, but she was assured from the first point and grabbed the tiebreaker to seize the momentum and see off Petra Marcinko 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.

Like Birrell, Joint found a new sense of energy and confidence in the second set of her match as she forced danger woman Liudmila Samsonova through a series of gruelling rallies to take out the second set 6-2.

Despite a solid effort to fight back in the early minutes of the third set, Samsonova was unable to keep up with her junior rival, who was making few errors. Aussie young gun Joint prevailed 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

In the men’s singles draw, Aussie veteran James Duckworth sealed a massive upset, downing Italian 30th seed Matteo Arnaldi in a four-set thriller.

Duckworth, who was forced to withdraw from the Winston-Salem tournament last week due to a leg issue, fell behind early in the match, dropping the first set 7-5 before taking control. The 34-year-old took Arnaldi by surprise to level the match and never looked back, toughing out a long tiebreaker in the fourth set to spring a huge upset.

As the clock ticked over the three-and-a-half hour mark, he sealed one of the biggest wins of his career, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(8).

“That was a really tough match,” Duckworth told Stan Sport post-match.

“It meant a lot (to win). I am stoked.”

Alexei Popyrin then outlasted former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov, who was battling a lower back concern in what became the final set of the match.

A rain delay turned the match against Dimitrov, with the crowd rallying behind the Australian who took control after the resumption and went to work behind his massive serve and forehand game. After dropping the first set, he prevailed against the veteran Bulgarian 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

While the four come-from-behind victories made it a day to remember for Australian tennis fans, it could have been even better, with Rinky Hijikata trading blows with No.3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime over four tough sets.

The 25-year-old gave his Canadian opponent all kinds of trouble and looked poised to take control of the match on multiple occasions, producing some insane shots to stun the crowd. But Auger-Aliassime’s class shone through when it mattered most and he shook off Hijikata to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Hijikata will still walk away from the grand slam with $195,000 in his pocket, $65,000 short of the prizemoney won by second round losers.

The four Australians who advanced on Tuesday will pocket at least $404,000 is they can repeat the dose in the second round.

If they make it to the end and lift the winner’s trophy, they will receive a record-breaking $7.6 million for their efforts.

Elsewhere on day two, Stan Wawrinka farewelled the grand slam arena one last time after falling in straight-sets to Matteo Berrettini.

The Italian star paid a touching tribute to the three-time Grand Slam winning legend who he grew up watching, admitting it was “a dream come true” to step onto the court with him.

Wawrinka was emotional as he waved goodbye to the crowd on a court where he lifted the trophy back in 2016.

“It is always really special here. One of the reasons I kept playing until I was 41 is to have these moments like you gave me tonight,” Wawrinka told the crowd post-match.

“It’s been more than 20 years since I first came here. I remember when I played qualifying in the first year I came here and that was impressive for me.

“I am going to miss it. I love the game so much ... I really want to thank you all for all those years of support. It was amazing.”

Top seeds in the men’s and women’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, both cruised to straight set victories over their respective opponents.

Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate, Dane Sweeny, Thanasi Kokkinakis and top-ranked men’s star Alex de Minaur will play their first round matches on Wednesday (AEST).

Also on Wednesday, Aussie Daria Kasatkina will take on Paula Badosa in the women’s draw.

Click here to read article