Karolina Muchova, ranked world No. 7, advanced to the third round of the 2026 US Open with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 win over Britain's Katie Boulter on September 2. The match was moved to the roofed Louis Armstrong Stadium due to rain, and Muchova credited her composure adapting to the new conditions. She said, "I was happy about my composure. We changed courts to this one with the roof, so of course I'm really happy with the way I adapted" [1]. Muchova capitalized on Boulter's 22 unforced errors and eight double faults in a 58-minute match [2, 3]. Boulter has struggled through 2026, with just two Grand Slam wins, and recently married fellow player Alex de Minaur [2, 3].
On September 3, Russian Karen Khachanov stunned third-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round. Auger-Aliassime appeared physically unwell during the match, experiencing dizziness and spots starting mid-second set. He said, "I just couldn’t, feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn’t recover. I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t" [4]. Auger-Aliassime made 47 unforced errors, struggled with his serve including eight double faults and no aces, and was broken seven times by Khachanov, who saved seven out of nine break points [5, 4, 6, 7, 8]. Khachanov acknowledged the physical issues affecting his opponent, saying, "Maybe he had some physical issues, it’s part of our sport. From my side I tried to give my best performance, fighting, fighting" [8]. Auger-Aliassime plans to undergo tests to determine the cause of his symptoms [4, 7].
Top seed Alexander Zverev also secured his spot in the third round on September 3 after surviving a five-set thriller against Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3. The match lasted four hours and 33 minutes, stretching late into the night [9, 10, 8]. Zverev described his performance as "quite s*** to be honest, but I won, that’s the most important thing," adding, "Physically, I feel fine. I am proud, I think, to be physically quite strong. I just hope at some point I’ll start playing better tennis" [8].
Several other top seeds were knocked out in early rounds, including sixth seed Alex de Minaur and 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti [11, 8].
Muchova, Khachanov, and Zverev will compete in the third round, advancing the US Open through its early stages. Further matches will determine who reaches the later rounds as the tournament progresses.
