Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina both made impressive winning starts at the US Open on Sunday, with Kostyuk defeating Australian qualifier Storm Hunter before ninth seed Svitolina cruised past Argentina’s Solana Sierra.

Marta Kostyuk began her latest pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 victory over Storm Hunter in the opening round.

The 11th seed has enjoyed an excellent season at the majors after a disappointing start at the Australian Open. Kostyuk reached the semi-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, arriving at Flushing Meadows with genuine ambitions of making another deep run.

She quickly established control against Hunter, racing into a 4-1 lead before the Australian qualifier fought back.

Kostyuk eventually secured the opening set when Hunter double-faulted on set point. The Ukrainian then stepped up her intensity in the second, breaking early and refusing to give her opponent an opportunity to recover.

She completed the victory in just 67 minutes.

“I’m very happy to be back to this amazing place,” Kostyuk said on court.

The Ukrainian also acknowledged the challenge of facing a player who had already played several matches during qualifying.

“It’s not easy to play a qualifier, they’ve played a whole tournament already. I’m very happy with my performance today. I try to keep myself grounded. There’s still a long way to go, I’m enjoying my tennis,” she said.

Kostyuk will face either 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens or Clara Tauson in the second round.

Svitolina cruises through

Later in the evening session, Elina Svitolina produced an equally dominant display, defeating Argentina’s Solana Sierra 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.

The ninth seed, who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2019, rarely looked troubled as she comfortably dispatched the world number 91 to begin her campaign in impressive fashion.

“It was a great match, it was a pleasure playing at night, it brings the best out of me,” Svitolina said.

The 31-year-old arrived in New York after a strong run during the North American hard-court swing and has now collected 43 victories this season.

Her aggressive approach has added another dimension to a game traditionally built around exceptional defensive skills, and she looked particularly sharp against Sierra.

Svitolina also enjoyed a memorable run in the US Open mixed doubles alongside her husband, Gael Monfils.

The pair reached the semi-finals before being defeated by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.

Svitolina described the mixed doubles experience as a special one despite the disappointment of falling short in the last four.

“It was a great experience. Of course it was nerve-wracking kind of matches and battles. We had some great wins,” she said.

“I was a little bit upset with the loss in the semis. But we really enjoyed this battle. It was our first and last time unfortunately.”

For Solana Sierra, the match represented a significant milestone as she made her US Open main-draw debut after successfully qualifying for the tournament for the first time.

Both Kostyuk and Svitolina will now look to build on their strong opening performances as they continue their campaigns at Flushing Meadows.

US Open 2026

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the tennis season, taking place from August 30 to September 13 at Flushing Meadows in New York City.

The prestigious tournament is played on hard courts and features the world’s leading players competing for one of tennis’s biggest titles.