Australian Tennis Stars Shine at US Open with Upsets

On a steamy day in New York, Australian tennis didn’t just make up the numbers. It took over the place.

Five Aussies are into the second round of the US Open after a statement-making 48 hours that delivered upsets, comebacks, and a serious payday. Between them, James Duckworth, Alexei Popyrin, Kim Birrell, Maya Joint and Taylah Preston have already locked in a combined $1.325 million – and the meter is still running.

Duckworth topples Arnaldi in career-defining upset

James Duckworth has had more surgeries than some players have had main-draw wins. On this day, none of that mattered.

Drawn against 30th seed Matteo Arnaldi, a French Open semi-finalist and the clear favourite, Duckworth walked into a hostile assignment and walked out with one of the wins of his career: 5-7 6-3 6-2 7-6 (10-8).

He dropped the opening set, then flipped the match on its head. The serve bit harder. The forehand started to sting. Arnaldi, so composed early, suddenly looked rushed and rattled as the Australian underdog rode his “red-hot” form into a two-sets-to-one lead.

The tension peaked in the fourth-set tiebreak. One loose point, and the Italian could have dragged it into a decider. Instead, Duckworth held his nerve, edged the breaker 10-8 and completed a comeback that will echo well beyond this fortnight.

This was no lucky escape. It was a seasoned pro, long underestimated, taking down a seeded star on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

Popyrin floors Dimitrov to relaunch grand slam campaign

If Duckworth’s win was a boilover, Alexei Popyrin’s was a statement.

Across the net stood Grigor Dimitrov, former World No.3, grand slam semi-finalist, and one of the most gifted shot-makers of his generation. Popyrin, ranked No.130 and battered by injuries and poor form in recent seasons, looked like the man with something to prove.

He played like it.

After dropping the first set 3-6, Popyrin ripped through the next three: 6-3 6-2 6-2. The scoreboard tells the story of a match that tilted, then tumbled, entirely his way. Once he settled, his power game overwhelmed Dimitrov, who never found a way to wrest back control.

For a player who has been stuck on the fringes and in treatment rooms, this was more than just a first-round win. It was a reminder that, when fit and confident, Popyrin belongs in the second week conversation at majors, not just the first-round lottery.

Birrell saves match point and finally cracks New York

Kim Birrell had to sleep on it.

Her opening-round clash with Petra Marcinko was suspended overnight due to rain, with the Australian facing the prospect of another early exit at Flushing Meadows and a restless night to go with it. She had never won a singles match at the US Open, falling at the first hurdle in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

This time, she refused to let the tournament spit her out again.

Birrell saved a match point, steadied, and clawed her way to a 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory, securing her maiden singles win in New York and finally snapping that three-year run of first-round heartbreak.

Ranked No.71 in the world, Birrell now has something more tangible to show for her rise: a second-round berth and a cheque that changes more than just her ranking.

She already knows where some of it’s going. Birrell is set to marry her coach, Matt Fraser, at the end of the year, and she admitted the $AU265,000 guaranteed for reaching the second round will be put to very real use.

“I'll definitely save some of it,” she said in New York. “We're getting married at the end of the year so that helps a lot and maybe I'll buy some extra flowers. And we've got a mortgage. Yeah, the mortgage.”

On a day of big points and bigger emotions, that grounded honesty cut through. This is what a breakthrough looks like in real life, not just on a scoreboard.

Joint stuns Samsonova to continue revival

The Australian charge didn’t stop there.

Maya Joint added another scalp to the tally, taking down higher-ranked Russian Liudmila Samsonova 3-6 6-2 6-2. Early on, Samsonova’s weight of shot dictated terms and Joint looked in trouble. Then the match turned.

Joint settled, started to hit through the court, and wrested control of the baseline exchanges. Once she levelled at a set apiece, Samsonova’s resistance faded. Joint ran away with the decider, sealing a win that continues her own revival after a “horror” start to 2026.

This wasn’t just a nice result. It was a sign that her season, once derailed, is firmly back on track.

Preston sets the tone, Aussies cash in

Taylah Preston had already done her job on Monday, quietly booking her place in the second round before the Australian avalanche truly began. Her victory meant that by the end of day two, five Australians had punched their tickets to round two.

Each of them now pockets at least $AU265,000, a life-shaping sum for players outside the very top tier and a powerful incentive to push deeper into the draw. For a nation that prides itself on punching above its weight in tennis, this is the kind of collective surge that can transform a season.

Not everyone shared in the joy. Rinky Hijikata ran into third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and fell in four sets, while Aleksandar Vukic lost a gruelling five-set marathon to Rei Sakamoto after their match was also postponed overnight. On another day, those might have been the stories. This time, they were footnotes to an Australian surge that refused to be dimmed.

Alcaraz returns, Sabalenka begins three-peat bid

Beyond the green-and-gold wave, the heavyweights moved with purpose.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz stepped back onto Arthur Ashe Stadium after a four-month layoff with a wrist injury and looked like he’d never left. He dispatched Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4 6-4, a clean, controlled performance that ticked the first box in his comeback.

“It's been a really tough five months for me,” Alcaraz said. “Being able to step on the Arthur Ashe, being able to compete again, I couldn't decide to come back in a better tournament. It's a really special place for me.”

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a rare US Open three-peat with the kind of ruthless efficiency that has become her trademark. She brushed aside Camila Osorio 6-2 6-4, keeping the Colombian at arm’s length despite a spirited challenge.

“She brought the fight,” Sabalenka said. “She battled really well and I just tried to stay as aggressive as possible. I think I played great. She's a tough opponent, makes you work really hard to get every point, so I'm happy that I was able to close the match in straight sets.”

The stars are doing what stars do. The defending champions are still standing. The favourites are moving through the gears.

But for now, on a day when Arthur Ashe and the outside courts buzzed with storylines, it was the Australians who stole the oxygen. The question now is simple: was this their high-water mark, or the start of something bigger in New York?