Medvedev and Pegula win opening matches at US Open in New York

Daniil Medvedev and Jessica Pegula opened their US Open campaigns with straight-sets wins in New York on August 30, 2026, the final Grand Slam of the year. Medvedev defeated French qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and Pegula beat Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2.

Medvedev entered Flushing Meadows as the 2021 champion and was seeded seventh, while Pegula arrived as the American No. 1 and the tournament’s third seed. The event has spread its first round across three days as part of a 15-day schedule and is offering a record 108 million USD prize purse.

Medvedev looked composed on Arthur Ashe Stadium, completing his victory in two hours and 14 minutes by using his serve and backhand to keep Gaston under pressure. He won 83% of his first-serve points and faced only one break-point opportunity during the match. “Last couple of weeks were not easy,” Medvedev said. “I’m happy that today I managed to produce high-level tennis.”

Pegula overcame early nerves and missed her first nine break-point chances before finding a rhythm and closing out the match in 83 minutes. Her win continued a productive season that included a run to the Cincinnati final earlier in the year.

The opening day produced an early seeded upset as 27th seed Barbora Krejcikova lost to Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6(4), 6-2 after saving six match points before eventually bowing out. Jasmine Paolini recovered from a second-set setback to defeat Slovenia’s Veronika Erjavec 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and will next meet compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini.

The US Open’s expanded schedule and record prize pool are in place for the second consecutive year, with the first round taking place over three days and the total purse set at 108 million USD.

Medvedev will face either Belgian Raphael Collignon or American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny in the second round, while Pegula’s next opponent will be either two-time US Open champion Venus Williams or American wildcard Sofia Kenin.