The 2026 US Open’s women’s singles draw saw defending two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka deliver a masterclass in dominant tennis on Wednesday, dispatching qualifier Polina Iatcenko in just 53 minutes to book her spot in the third round — but the quick-fire win was overshadowed by a tense post-match exchange between the world No. 1 and a reporter.
Sabalenka, 28, entered the final Grand Slam of the season chasing a piece of tennis history: only two women, Chris Evert (1975-1978) and Serena Williams (2012-2014), have ever claimed three consecutive US Open titles, a feat the Belarusian is now one win closer to achieving. Her 6-1 6-1 rout of 22-year-old debutant Iatcenko stands as one of the fastest Grand Slam wins of her professional career, a display of unrelenting pace and power that left the world No. 160 outmatched from the first point.
The young Russian qualifier, playing the biggest match of her career to date, struggled for rhythm early on, managing only three total winners across the match compared to Sabalenka’s 24. She earned a small win by holding serve to get on the scoreboard at 5-1 in the first set, breaking out in a relieved smile after the breakthrough, but it was only temporary respite. Sabalenka closed out the opening set in less than 30 minutes, and though Iatcenko took a bathroom break after the first set — widely seen as a chance to reset mentally rather than just change clothing — Sabalenka maintained her focus by practicing serves while waiting, and raced out to a 3-0 double break lead in the second set. Though Sabalenka dropped her serve once in a sloppy fourth game, she quickly reclaimed control, breaking Iatcenko twice more to close out the match.
For Iatcenko, the lopsided loss still came with silver linings: she earned valuable big-stage experience against the world’s top player on the US Open’s biggest court, and will walk away with a $190,000 paycheck, doubling her career prize money ahead of the tournament.
Despite the lopsided win, Sabalenka made it clear she was in no mood to entertain questions about off-court activity. When a reporter implied she had attended frequent parties in the lead-up to the tournament, referencing social media posts of brand events, Sabalenka pushed back sharply. “What kind of question is that? Just because I posted some activities with brands, you think that I’ve been partying [and] not training?” she said. When pressed again on whether she was only now “getting serious” with the tournament underway, she retorted: “Oh yeah, I wasn’t serious before that. Next question.”
The 2026 season has been an unusual one for Sabalenka. She got off to a historic start, dropping just one match — a loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final — in her first 27 outings, and claimed back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami to solidify her hold on the world No. 1 ranking. But since completing the Sunshine Double, her form has dipped: she has posted a 17-7 win-loss record leading into the US Open, and has only reached one WTA semi-final in the past five months. Sabalenka has previously acknowledged she has been “dealing with several things” during this slump in form, and is still working to return to her best.
Sabalenka also faces significant ranking pressure in New York. Rybakina can overtake her for the world No. 1 spot if she reaches the semi-finals, even if Sabalenka defends her title. Third seed Jessica Pegula and fourth seed Coco Gauff also have chances to claim the top ranking if they win the tournament.
Up next for Sabalenka is a third-round match against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova. She said after the match that she was pleased with her performance: “I’m happy with the level I played, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match.”
In other women’s singles action on Wednesday, Pegula kept her dream of a first Grand Slam singles title alive with a comfortable 6-3 6-1 win over fellow American Sofia Kenin. Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova, two-time major semi-finalist Marta Kostyuk and teenage American standout Iva Jovic all also claimed straight-set wins, extending the run of few upsets through the opening two rounds of the women’s draw.