Trending 
American tennis player Coco Gauff launched her 2026 US Open campaign with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 straight-set victory over Türkiye’s Zeynep Sönmez, showcasing major improvements in her serve.
The fourth-seeded 2023 champion dominated the baseline battle against the 53rd-ranked Sonmez, dropping serve only once.
“It’s incredible to be back on this court,” Gauff told the crowd following her win. “I love playing in this atmosphere.”
Read More : Bayern Coach Kompany Hospitalised After Collapse
The American star breezed through the opening set without facing a single break point, forcing weak returns from Sönmez with her powerful serving.
Following serve struggles last season that led to a fourth-round exit, Gauff overhauled her stroke with biomechanics expert Gavin Macmillan—who previously revamped Aryna Sabalenka’s serve.
Fresh off a WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati, Gauff noted that her service mechanics have undergone “a gradual change” to build a far more consistent toss.
Sönmez mounted a stiff challenge in the second set, breaking back to draw level at 2-2 before briefly seizing the lead. However, Gauff erased multiple break points during a marathon service game at 2-3 to level the set, a moment she described as “real important.”
Relying on her big serve to hold and subsequently break Sönmez, Gauff comfortably closed out the match, emphasising that knowing it takes a massive effort to break her gives her immense confidence moving forward.
