Sabalenka starts US Open title defense with straight-sets win over Osorio

No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame patchy form and several tricky moments to open her US Open title defense with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Camila Osorio in 1 hour and 27 minutes.

After becoming just the fifth player in WTA history to complete the Sunshine Double in March, Sabalenka's iron grip of the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz has been loosened. She has not reached a final since Miami, and has suffered a slew of defeats from winning positions -- the latest of which was a 7-6(7), 6-4 loss to Sara Bejlek in the Cincinnati fourth round from 5-1 up in the first-set tiebreak and 4-1 up in the second set.

This fortnight, Sabalenka's 97-week stint at World No. 1 is under threat. She will lose her top spot if she does not defend her title in Flushing Meadows, and could potentially fall as low as No. 4. That would also mark her first season without a Slam trophy since 2022.

Against Osorio, Sabalenka was visibly frustrated on several occasions as she tallied 23 unforced errors, including four double faults. But she was ultimately able to outweigh them with 32 winners to notch her 24th consecutive first-round win in a major -- a streak dating back to her opening loss to Carla Suárez Navarro at the 2020 Australian Open -- and her 14th straight victory in New York.

Sabalenka saves best for last: The match opened with three straight breaks of serve, but it was Osorio who was further off the pace: the Colombian committed five double faults in her first two service games, including two in a row to go down 2-1. That slow start cost her: Sabalenka fended off a break point in the next game with an ace and went on to the first hold of the day, and thereafter the first set.

Another double fault and a pair of cheap forehand errors from Osorio handed Sabalenka an immediate break in the second set, too -- but she responded with an error-strewn game of her own to gift the break back. This time, Osorio made the most of her opportunity to get a foothold in the match: net forays, drop shots and a superb lob all began to pay off as the World No. 59 grew in confidence.

Osorio even held two break points to go up 4-2 -- and it was at this point that Sabalenka asserted her authority. She saved both with backhand one-two punches and escaped with the hold. At 4-4, Osorio's ninth double fault paved the way for the crucial break of the set, and Sabalenka closed the victory out with a service winner on her second match point.

"I think she just step in a little bit more and played a little bit more aggressive, and forced me to go back," Sabalenka said in her press conference. "As I had opportunities, I tried to step in. She played great. She brought the fight, and she battled really well, and I just tried to stay as aggressive as possible. Sometimes I had to go back just to put the ball in play and move forward as possible."

Sabalenka to face first-time Iatcenko next: Sabalenka's second-round opponent will be 22-year-old qualifier Polina Iatcenko, who notched her first Grand Slam main-draw win in memorable style on Sunday. Two points from defeat on four occasions, Iatcenko came from 5-3 down in the third set to outlast Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-4, 7-6[7] in a riveting 3 hours and 27 minutes -- the eighth-longest tour-level match of 2026 so far.

The US Open is just the second tour-level main draw of Iatcenko's career -- she reached the Chennai quarterfinals on her debut last October -- and has been another breakthrough run for the World No. 160, who was born in the Arctic Ocean port of Murmansk.