US Open 2026: Pegula and Sabalenka Sprint Through Rainy New York

I sat in front of my old laptop at a small coffee shop in Hai Phong, my coffee long gone cold. The clock read 1 AM Vietnam time, but I couldn't look away from the screen. The 2026 US Open was underway at Flushing Meadows, and I — a sports journalist who once ran 800 meters, who once misspelled Nguyen Thi Oanh's name three times in a single article — was following every match as if I were sitting in the stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, needed just 56 minutes to dispatch fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1. Fifty-six minutes. In track and field, that's the time it takes me to complete a comfortable 10K run. But on a tennis court, that's a remarkable sprint. Pegula surrendered only seven points on serve, finished with 18 winners against eight unforced errors. She never faced a break point throughout the match. But the most impressive number wasn't in the statistics. It was in how Pegula spoke about her match: "I knew today was going to be tough. Sonya has given me a lot of trouble in the past." That's the statement of someone who has lost, who has trembled, who has forgotten how to breathe in the middle of a match. Behind every tactical diagram is a person trembling, hoping, and forgetting how to breathe. This match was completely different from their previous meeting at the 2026 US Open, when Pegula needed a first-set tiebreak to get past the 2026 Australian Open champion. This time, there was no struggle. Pegula broke Kenin for a 3-1 lead in the opening set, then won seven consecutive games spanning both sets. This is her seventh straight year reaching the third round in New York. "I'm going pretty big on second serves, I'm trying to mix up where I'm going and just trust that I can hit good serves in the moment," Pegula said. "That's been a lot of work we've done off the court, so really excited when I can practice something, and it pays off in the match." I remember my days as a young athlete in Hai Phong. My coach once said: "Running fast is not as important as running at the right time." Pegula seems to have learned that lesson. She doesn't need to run fastest at every moment — she just needs to run at the right time, in the right place, and keep her breathing steady. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 seed and two-time defending champion, was even faster than Pegula. She needed just 54 minutes to rout Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1. Fifty-four minutes. In that time, I barely managed to brew a cup of coffee and read a short article. Sabalenka said: "I'm happy with my level. I've been working really hard, but I feel like I'm kind of moving away from trying to be perfect on court. I know that you cannot be perfect, and I'm just trying to work with what I have right now." That statement made me pause. In a sports world where everyone talks about perfection, about optimizing every detail, Sabalenka — the world No. 1 — talks about accepting imperfection. That's a counterintuitive perspective that I find incredibly fascinating. I remember my days running the 800 meters. I could never be perfect in every stride. There were days I ran with wrong rhythm, wrong technique, but still finished with a good time. And there were days I ran technically perfect but failed because of mental pressure. Perfection isn't the destination — it's just an illusion we chase. The 2026 US Open is taking place under harsh weather conditions. Rain disrupted much of Tuesday's schedule, suspending play on outdoor courts. However, matches continued under the roofs at Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. There's an irony here: while rain disrupted the schedule, the top players were playing at breakneck speed. Linda Noskova, the No. 6 seed from the Czech Republic, closed the night session with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee. Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, the No. 9 seed, had to endure a dramatic match. She squandered a match point in the second-set tiebreaker, but recovered to beat Australia's Maya Joint 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4. Svitolina's match made me think about psychological battles in sports. There are calls that no one picks up, but both ends of the line are healing. Svitolina missed her chance to end the match, but she didn't collapse. She stood up, breathed, and continued fighting. That's something no statistic can measure. Iva Jovic, 18, completed a delayed first-round match, defeating Poland's Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3. Jovic recovered from an early deficit in the opening set to close out the straight-sets victory. Meanwhile, Diana Shnaider, the No. 15 seed, defeated former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 7-6(4). Shnaider, who reached the French Open semifinals this season, will face Taylor Townsend next. Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No. 18 seed, needed three sets to overcome Australia's Kimberly Birrell 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. She will meet Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, the No. 11 seed, who eliminated 2026 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5. Kostyuk led 6-1, 4-2 before Stephens mounted a second-set comeback and eventually earned a set point opportunity. Kostyuk escaped the danger and won the final three games. "I was a little nervous," Kostyuk admitted. "I kind of knew what to expect, but I knew she was gonna try to change something. At the same time, I knew how she was playing, and I beat her. But yeah, it's a different tournament; it's a Grand Slam." Jasmine Paolini of Italy, the No. 19 seed, moved on with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over countrywoman Lucrezia Stefanini. She will next face Sorana Cirstea of Romania, the No. 16 seed, a 6-2, 7-5 winner over France's Diane Parry. Anna Kalinskaya, the No. 21 seed, advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory over China's Wang Xinyu. Emma Navarro, the No. 26 seed, won an all-American matchup against Caty McNally, rallying for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Navarro will meet Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, the No. 7 seed, who crushed Britain's Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour. Ann Li, the No. 29 seed, pulled out a 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Croatia's Donna Vekic. Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the No. 30 seed, was the lone seeded woman eliminated on Tuesday. Germany's Tatjana Maria rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over the former French Open champion in first-round action. Looking at the bigger picture of the 2026 US Open, I see something fascinating: the diversity in playing styles. There are players like Pegula and Sabalenka, who finish matches at lightning speed. There are players like Svitolina and Kostyuk, who have to battle through difficult moments. And there are young players like Jovic, who are learning to survive at the biggest stage. In track and field, I learned that every athlete has their own rhythm. Some run fast from the start, some conserve energy for the final laps. There's no single formula for success. Tennis is the same. Pegula doesn't need to play like Sabalenka. Svitolina doesn't need to finish matches as quickly as Noskova. Each has their own path. My old laptop taught me: slow doesn't mean late, it's just telling the story differently. When I was a young journalist in Hai Phong, I used to think I had to write fast, to keep up with my colleagues. But I learned that in sports, as in journalism, speed isn't everything. What matters is whether you understand the story unfolding before your eyes. Rainy New York night, but the stars still shine. Pegula is sprinting toward the title she touched last year. Sabalenka is defending her throne with a new philosophy — not perfection, just good enough. And young players like Jovic are writing the first chapters of their stories. I turned off my laptop, took the last sip of my completely cold coffee. Outside the window, Hai Phong was still dark. But in my mind, the images of New York were still bright. I remembered the words of an old coach: "The arena isn't big because of the seats; it's big because of the stories that dare to stay." And tonight, at Flushing Meadows, many stories are being written. Those stories aren't just about shots, scores, or titles. They're about people — people who are running, fighting, hoping, and forgetting how to breathe. And I, a sports journalist from Hai Phong, am here to tell those stories. When I look back at what happened on Tuesday at the US Open, I realize there's a recurring theme: resilience. Pegula is resilient because she overcame past failures to become a serious contender. Sabalenka is resilient because she learned to accept her imperfection. Svitolina is resilient because she stood up after missing a match point. Kostyuk is resilient because she escaped Stephens' comeback. In track and field, we have a term: "kick" — the final sprint. It's the moment you use your remaining strength to overtake your opponent in the final meters. But the kick isn't just about physical fitness. It's about willpower. It's about whether you dare to face the pain, the fatigue, the voices in your head telling you to stop. The 2026 US Open is showing us that the kick exists not only in track and field. It exists in every tennis match, in every game, every point. Pegula kicked at the 50th minute of her match. Sabalenka kicked at the 40th minute. Svitolina kicked in the final game of the third set. And they all succeeded. But there's something I've realized: the kick isn't always about running faster. Sometimes, the kick is about maintaining your pace. Sometimes, the kick is about taking a deep breath and trusting yourself. Sabalenka said she's "working with what I have right now" — that's the kick. It's accepting the present and making the most of what you have. I remember an evening in Hai Phong, when I called coach Thanh Huyen during the pandemic. I asked: "Coach, if we don't compete, how do we live?" She answered with a sentence I'll never forget: "We don't live to compete. We compete to live." And tonight, at the US Open, I see players competing to live — to live with passion, with desire, with their dreams. As I write these lines, dawn is breaking in Hai Phong. Motorbikes are starting to move through the streets. Life goes on. But in my mind, the images of the US Open remain. I know I'll be following this tournament for many more days, and I'll continue telling stories about people who run, who fight, and who live with passion. The arena isn't big because of the seats; it's big because of the stories that dare to stay. And the 2026 US Open, with all its drama, victories, defeats, and comebacks, is certainly a big arena. I'll keep watching. I'll keep writing. Because that's how I live, and that's how I compete — with a pen in my hand, with my heart on the court, and with the belief that every story deserves to be told. And when I look back at what happened on Tuesday, I realize there's a great lesson we can all learn from these players: perfection isn't the destination. Resilience is what matters. Because in life, as in sports, you'll always face failures, difficulties, moments when you want to give up. But successful people aren't those who never fail — they're those who get up after every fall. Pegula got up after last year's final. Sabalenka got up after being criticized for relying too much on power. Svitolina got up after difficult moments in her match. Kostyuk got up after nearly being overtaken by Stephens. And they're all advancing at the 2026 US Open. That's what I want to write. That's what I want to tell my readers in Vietnam. Because I believe these stories aren't just about tennis — they're about life, about resilience, and about the human capacity to rise. And that's why I love sports. That's why I love writing about sports. Because every match, every athlete, every moment is a story about life. And I'm fortunate to be the one telling those stories.