Emma Navarro Edges Lois Boisson in Thrilling US Open Opener

The first round of the 2026 US Open delivered its first raw flash of emotion before the tournament had even settled into rhythm.

On Louis Armstrong Stadium, 25-year-old American Emma Navarro edged past France’s Lois Boisson 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in a stop-start contest stretched awkwardly across two days by New York rain. The tennis was gripping. The ending was explosive.

Navarro, who had done enough on Sunday to feel she was in control before the weather intervened, returned on Monday knowing the scoreboard said “advantage” but her body and mind had to reset.

“It was really tough stopping at the point of the match we were at,” she said afterwards. “I just felt like I had worked really hard to get to that point, and then all of a sudden, it’s like we’re gonna come out tomorrow and we both have a clean slate. It’s it’s really unique because you feel like you should feel like you’re ahead, but you kind of don’t.”

That sense of starting over showed in the scoreline. The opening two sets were split by the thinnest of margins, both decided in tiebreaks. Navarro took the first, Boisson hit back in the second, and neither player gave an inch from the baseline. Rallies stretched long, nerves stretched longer.

By the third set, the American began to lean on the home crowd and her heavier, more consistent hitting. The pressure finally broke through: Navarro grabbed the decisive break and closed out the match 6-3, sealing her place in the second round.

What followed said as much about the stakes as any stat sheet.

At the net, the two shared the customary handshake. Navarro turned away, lifted her arms and waved to the stands, soaking in a hard-earned win after nearly 24 hours of interruption and uncertainty.

Behind her, the cameras caught a different story. Boisson, 23 and stung by the narrow defeat, smashed her racket into the court in a burst of frustration. No words, just the crack of graphite on hard court, a blunt soundtrack to a brutal loss.

It was a snapshot of the US Open in its purest form: celebration in the foreground, heartbreak just a few feet away.

The tournament now rolls on through September 13, with the women’s singles final set for September 12 and the men’s title decided a day later. Navarro moves forward, her composure tested and proven. Boisson leaves New York with a first-round exit, a broken racket, and a reminder of how unforgiving these early days in Flushing Meadows can be.