Aryna Sabalenka did not have herself in the Grand Slams in 2026. After making it to the Australian Open final – where she lost – Sabalenka experienced her first exits at both the French Open and Wimbledon. One of those losses resulted in Sabalenka declaring that she wanted to “quiet tennis now”.
Which showed the danger in vain. And despite her two most recent Grand Slams coming out earlier than expected, Sabalenka, 28, has maintained her No. 1 WTA ranking and was the favorite heading into the 2016 US Open.
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He proved exactly why that was the case with a strong tie in Monday’s first-round match. Sabalenka defeated Camila Osorio (6-2, 6-4) to earn a trip to the second round of the event.
Sabalenka may look vulnerable right off the bat, dropping Osorio’s first game. But it quickly became clear that Sabalenka just needed to warm up to find form. He won the next four games, using dominant practice to pick up easy points. Osorio won the sixth game in the set, but Sabalenka took the next two, cruising to a 6-2 win. Sabalenka hit five aces in the set.
It looked as if Sabalenka would carry that momentum into the beginning of the second set, as she took the first game. But Osorio showed fight from there, taking three of the next four games from Sabalenka to take a 3-2 lead in the set.
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Sabalenka also fought back in the next game. After trading the next two games to make it 4-4, Sabalenka managed to win the second, taking a 5-4 lead in the set. If he wins the second one, he will advance to the second round.
That’s right. Sabalenka won the 10th game in the second set to advance to the second round.
Although Sabalenka has clashed with the French Open and Wimbledon, she is still considered the favorite to win the 2026 US Open. There are several reasons for that. Despite recent Grand Slam losses, there is no evidence Sabalenka has fallen as a player just yet. On top of that, he has experienced a lot of success at the US Open in recent years, winning the past two and finishing as runner-up in 2023. As he proved on Monday, he knows the court very well.
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However, given Sabalenka’s recent losses — and Novak Djokovic’s early exit on Sunday — a high seed in a Grand Slam doesn’t mean much if a player can’t perform at his best.
While it wasn’t a perfect victory, Sabalenka showed enough that she is ready for another run at the Grand Slam, regardless of her slip-ups in recent high-profile events.