Dressed for success, Osaka begins quest for third US Open with straight-sets win

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka began her quest for a third US Open title with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Anastasia Zakharova in Monday night's session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Osaka, who won the title in New York in 2018 and 2020, had an early lead in both sets, going up 5-2 in the first and 5-3 in the second. But on both occasions, Zakharova, ranked No. 101 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, fought back to force tiebreaks.

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The former world No. 1 won the first-set tiebreak 8-6 on her third set point and the second 7-3 to complete the victory in just over two hours.

Osaka took to the court in a black outfit that paid tribute to former American basketball star Allen Iverson, with an all-white gown for her walk-on. 

“It’s my tribute to Iverson, she told the fans during her on-court interview. "I really like him a lot. Nike said ‘basketball.’ So I said, OK, you want basketball, I’ll give you basketball. I love expressing myself through clothes. I’m glad you guys appreciate it."

Key stats from Osaka's win tonight

10: This was Osaka’s 10th Grand Slam match victory in 2026, improving her record to 10-2 for the season. It is the first time she has won 10 Grand Slam matches in a season since claiming 12 in 2019.

11: The number of aces Osaka hit during the match, including one on match point. Ten of those aces came in the second set. It takes her ace total this year to 208, making her only the ninth player to hit 200 or more aces in 2026.

The win was also Osaka’s 11th on hard courts this season, highlighted by a semifinal finish in Washington, D.C., and a quarterfinal appearance in Toronto.

29: This was Osaka’s 29th opening-round win in Grand Slam matches, against six losses. At the US Open, she improved to 9-1 in opening-round matches, with her only first-round loss coming against Danielle Collins in 2022.

79: The win was her 79th Grand Slam match victory. The leading Asian players for Grand Slam wins are China's Li Na with 90 and Japan's Ai Sugiyama with 84.

For Zakharova, the loss was her fourth opening-round exit at a Grand Slam in 2026, with all four losses coming against top-15 players - No. 13 Osaka at the US Open, No. 6 Jessica Pegula at the 2026 Australian Open, and No. 10 Karolina Muchova at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

She is also now 0-8 against top-20 players in her career (0-16 in sets), with seven of those losses coming in 2026.

Siniakova awaits in second round

Up next for Osaka is a second-round clash against Czech Katerina Siniakova, who scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The Japanese player holds a 2-1 lead over Siniakova in their head-to-head record, with Osaka winning in Doha in 2018 and at Wimbledon in 2025, both in straight sets.

Siniakova’s only win against Osaka also came at a Grand Slam, when she knocked the Japanese player out in the third round of the 2019 French Open, when Osaka was the top seed.