The U.S. Open rolls into day two with another slate of first-round matches to watch.
The legendary Venus Williams makes her main-draw singles return at age 45, Carlos Alcaraz faces a tricky assignment as he pursues a second title in New York and Victoria Mboko looks to continue her stunning season.
Here’s what to watch, on the three show courts and around the grounds.
Start time: 11:30 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ABC
Madison Keys (6) vs. Renata Zarazúa
Australian Open champion Keys opens her campaign against unseeded Renata Zarazúa of Mexico. Keys is 1-0 against Zarazúa, with her lone victory coming at the 2024 French Open, and she will be looking to build on her maiden Grand Slam title with a good run at her home major. Her best result at the U.S. Open to date came in 2017, when she lost to compatriot Sloane Stephens in the final.
Frances Tiafoe (17) vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Frances Tiafoe loves being at the U.S. Open. He told The Athletic at the Canadian Open in Toronto that playing the North American swing — from Washington, D.C. and Toronto to Cincinnati and New York — makes him want to “compete” and “go hard.”
Last year’s U.S. Open semifinalist takes on Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round. Tiafoe has a 3-2 record head-to-head, but Nishioka won their last hardcourt encounter in Dallas this year.
Tiafoe, who has stressed that he is feeling good after retiring with injury against Holger Rune at the Cincinnati Open 12 days ago, will once again feed off the electric New York crowd as he attempts another deep run at his home slam.
Venus Williams (WC) vs. Karolina Muchová (11)
Venus Williams is back at the U.S. Open. Yes, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. This is real life. The seven-time Grand Slam singles winner is making her 25th singles main draw appearance.
It’s a tough ask for the 45-year-old, taking on 11th seed Karolína Muchová. The Czech player has been a U.S. Open semifinalist the past two years and is known for her crafty shotmaking. These two have a history of playing each other in the first round at Flushing Meadows. At the 2020 U.S. Open, Muchová dispatched Williams in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.
Reilly Opelka vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2)
The last time Carlos Alcaraz graced Arthur Ashe Stadium, Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp upset the Spaniard in the 2024 second round. The world No. 2 hopes for a longer run at this U.S. Open, with the world No. 1 ranking on the line. If he betters Jannik Sinner’s result in New York, he will move to the top of the world rankings.
Alcaraz, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, faces a tricky opening assignment in big-serving American Reilly Opelka. It’s the first meeting between the two players, and Alcaraz will need to adjust to the lack of rhythm he will get against Opelka’s serve.
Carlos Alcaraz is targeting an eighth tournament final in a row in New York. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Louis Armstrong
Start time: 11 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ABC
Barbora Krejčíková vs. Victoria Mboko (22)
This is one of the anticipated first-round matches in the women’s singles draw. Mboko, the teenager who won her first WTA 1000 title on home soil at the Canadian Open two weeks ago, faces two-time Grand Slam champion Krejčíková.
Mboko beat four major winners en route to that title in Montreal. This time last year, she was ranked outside the top 300. Now, she is 23rd. Can she continue her hot streak in New York?
Federico Gomez (Q) vs. Jack Draper (5)
Jack Draper reached the U.S. Open semifinals last year before losing to eventual champion Sinner. The No. 5 seed hasn’t played singles since Wimbledon last month due to a left arm injury.
Draper plays Argentina’s Federico Agustin Gomez in the first round in New York. This is their first career meeting, and Gomez, ranked 127th in the world, is playing in his first U.S. Open.
Sebastian Ofner vs. Casper Ruud (12)
Casper Ruud, the 12th seed at this year’s U.S. Open, faces Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. The Norwegian has been dealing with a lingering knee injury, which forced him to miss Wimbledon.
During the subsequent hardcourt swing, Ruud reached the round of 16 at the Canadian Open, then lost his opening match in Cincinnati. A past finalist at the U.S. Open (2022), he is 2-0 against Ofner in his career, with both those victories occurring on clay.
Alycia Parks vs. Mirra Andreeva (5)
It’s been a career season for Mirra Andreeva, despite a recent downturn in form. She won the Dubai Tennis Championships in February and at Indian Wells the following month, becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion at age 17, but since a French Open collapse against French wild card Loïs Boisson, she has struggled to sustain that form. She is also coming off an injury to her ankle.
That meant Andreeva only played one hardcourt tournament in the North American swing, losing in the round of 16 at the Canadian Open. Her best result at the U.S. Open is the second round. The 18-year-old hopes to build on that, facing American Alycia Parks in round one.
Grandstand
Start time: 11 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ABC
Diane Parry vs. Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová, a two-time Wimbledon champion, is playing in her final professional event before retiring from the sport at age 35. Her best result at the U.S. Open was the quarterfinals in 2015 and 2017. She opens up for the final time against Diane Parry of France.
Joāo Fonseca vs. Miomir Kecmanović
Joāo Fonseca exited last year’s U.S. Open in devastating fashion, losing in the final round of qualifying to Eliot Spizzirri of the U.S. in front of a partisan crowd. Since then, he has become one of the star attractions in the sport, bringing waves of Brazilian fans to all of his matches. His ceiling is so high that great things are possible, but his development on the ATP Tour has been punctuated by early defeats.
Miomir Kecmanović, a steady pro who will test the Brazilian’s rally tolerance, isn’t an ideal opponent as Fonseca searches for his first main-draw win in New York.
Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Holger Rune (11)
Botic van de Zandschulp is a past quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open (2021), and he produced the upset of the tournament last year by knocking Carlos Alcaraz out in the second round. He comes into the 2025 tournament after reaching a final in Winston-Salem, N.C. last week. Rune, the 11th seed who has had an up-and-down year, will have to be careful against the often mercurial Dutchman.
Anna Bondár vs. Elina Svitolina (12)
Elina Svitolina is a past semifinalist at the U.S. Open (2019). Her North American hardcourt swing saw her reach the quarterfinals in Montreal, before falling to Naomi Osaka; she then lost in the first round in Cincinnati. The Ukrainian’s campaign at Flushing Meadows begins against Anna Bondár of Hungary. Svitolina leads the career head-to-head 2-0.
Around the grounds
Start time: 11 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ABC
Cameron Norrie vs. Sebastian Korda
First on Stadium 17: A classic of the Grand Slam first-round diet: a match between two tricky unseeded players none of the seeded guys wanted to see in their section. Norrie made a deep run at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals, while Korda, one of the most naturally talented of the American men, is trying to find some competitive rhythm after a series of injuries.
Martin Damm (Q) vs. Darwin Blanch (WC)
First on Court 11: American Martin Damm, 21, aims to win his first main-draw match at a major after coming through qualifying. He has drawn 17-year-old countryman Darwin Blanch, who received a first main-draw wild card to the U.S. Open and secured his first ATP Tour match win, against Borna Ćorić, just ahead of the event. Blanch has been the talk of American tennis circles for some time, but has thus far stayed on the Challenger and ITF Tours to develop his game.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs. Iva Jović
Second on Court 9: Last year, Iva Jović, then 16, recorded her first main-draw and WTA Tour match win by defeating Magda Linette in the first round of the U.S. Open. She arrives in New York off the back of winning her first WTA 125 title earlier this year at the Charlottesville Open, and takes on world No. 119 Aliaksandra Sasnovich as she bids to reach the second round again.
Dino Prižmić (Q) vs. Andrey Rublev (15)
Fourth on Court 5: Andrey Rublev is a four-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist. Still searching for his maiden Grand Slam semifinal appearance, Rublev faces qualifier Dino Prižmić, who is back in the first round of a major. Prižmić made waves at the 2024 Australian Open by taking a set off 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, before injuries held up his ascent.
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(Top photo of Venus Williams: Robert Prange / Getty Images)