Naomi Osaka gets the first-round win with a gutted-out performance

Naomi Osaka opened her 2026 U.S. Open campaign with a hard-fought victory over Anastasia Zakharova, winning 7–6(6), 7–6(3) in a match that lasted just over two hours and finished after midnight in New York.

Although Osaka won in straight sets, the score doesn’t fully capture how tense the match became. She built comfortable leads in both sets but struggled to close them out, allowing the energetic Zakharova to turn what initially looked like a routine victory into a genuine battle.

Osaka started aggressively and quickly established control of the first set. Her powerful serve and deep groundstrokes helped her move ahead 5–2, putting her within one game of taking the set. Zakharova refused to fade, however. She began extending rallies, retrieving Osaka’s heavier shots and waiting for errors.

That pressure paid off. Zakharova erased Osaka’s advantage, broke her serve twice and eventually earned an opportunity to serve for the opening set. Osaka responded at exactly the right moment, breaking back and forcing a tiebreak.

The first tiebreak was extremely close. Zakharova saved two set points, but Osaka continued attacking and finally converted her third to win it 8–6. It was an important escape after she had allowed such a commanding lead to disappear.

Osaka appeared to regain control in the second set. She broke Zakharova in the third and fifth games, including an impressive recovery from 0–40 down during one of those games. Her serve also became a much bigger weapon: she struck 10 of her 11 total aces during the second set.

Once again, though, finishing the set proved difficult. Osaka reached 5–3 but couldn’t close out the match, and Zakharova fought back to force another tiebreak.

This time Osaka was much more decisive. She took control early, played with greater clarity and limited the loose errors that had kept Zakharova in the match. Osaka won the tiebreak 7–3, sealing the victory with an ace on match point.

Statistically, Osaka finished with 20 winners, compared with Zakharova’s 13, and made 30 unforced errors, four fewer than her opponent. Her 11 aces were especially important, helping her escape several difficult moments.

The performance was uneven, but Osaka’s ability to win both tiebreaks was encouraging. She didn’t panic after losing her leads, and she produced some of her best tennis when the score became tight. At the same time, failing to serve out both sets is an area she will need to improve as the competition becomes stronger.

Osaka acknowledged afterward that she felt rusty, having not played since Toronto, and that the first round in New York tends to make her nervous. She said her main goal was to compete without regrets and expressed gratitude for another opportunity to play under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The night also included one of Osaka’s signature fashion moments. She entered the stadium in a dramatic white walk-on outfit before revealing a black, basketball-inspired match look honoring NBA legend Allen Iverson. The outfit, along with her cornrow hairstyle, became one of the evening’s major talking points.

Ultimately, this was more of a survival test than a statement victory. Osaka’s timing and composure came and went, but her power remained obvious, her serve delivered when she needed it most and she showed enough resilience to avoid an upset.

The No. 13 seed now advances to the second round, where she will face Katerina Siniakova. Osaka leads their career head-to-head 2–1, although Siniakova’s lone victory came at a Grand Slam—the 2019 French Open.