31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Sydney Schaefer) Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates winning a match against Roman Safiullin, of Russia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug.
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also began strongly, beating Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4. Because he had not played a Grand Slam match for several months, alcaraz admitted he was more nervous than usual.
“I don’t know how it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal,” Alcaraz said. Still, he said his main aim was to enjoy the tournament and see how his body responds. “I had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because, for me, my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let’s see how my body’s going to react after the matches, after the competition again,” Alcaraz said. “I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,” Sabalenka told the crowd afterward. “I really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium.”
“I was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and yeah, the arm, the wrist, everything felt great. His chances of defending the title have received a boost after Novak Djokovic suffered a shock first-round defeat, while top-ranked Jannik Sinner is sidelined with a knee injury. She is aiming to become the first player since Serena Williams to win three straight US Open titles.
Carlos Alcaraz made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis at the US Open on Monday, and the biggest positive was that his injured right wrist felt completely fine.
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