Quick Served: Day 2 — Duality of Tennis
Jon Wertheim opens his recap with some words of wisdom: for every goodbye, there’s a hello.
While the tennis world hopes Monday night wasn’t Venus Williams’ last appearance on Arthur Ashe, JW reflects on the icon’s performance, and reminds us to never say never, “especially with Venus Williams.”
He then shares insight on the sendoffs for two beloved players, breaks down the day’s major upset, spotlights contenders finding their rhythm, and previews Tuesday’s must-watch matches.
Don’t miss the full Day 2 recap!
*Results from end of play on August 25.
Primetime Recap: Thank You, Venus.
Venus Williams stepped onto the court Monday night for her record 25th US Open appearance. At 45, she became the oldest singles player at the tournament since 1981. Though, at times she looked like vintage Venus.
The seven-time major champion surged in the second set, taking it 6–2 over Karolina Muchova.
Ultimately, the two-time US Open winner fell in three sets to the No. 11 seed. The fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium gave her a standing ovation as she left the court.
"I think for me, getting back on the court was about giving myself a chance to play more healthy. When you play unhealthy, it's in your mind. It's not just how you feel. You get stuck in your mind too. So it was nice to be freer,” Williams said in her post match press conference.
Muchova, who reached the semifinals in New York the last two years, will face the winner of Solana Sierra and Sorana Cirstea in the second round.
18-year-old Mirra Andreeva needed just 55 minutes to get past American Alycia Parks 6-0, 6-1 on Louis Armstrong. The No. 5 seed has reached the quarterfinals of the last two majors, but has yet to advance past the Round of 64 in New York.
She’ll face fellow Russian Anastasia Potapova in the second round. Fitting, as Maria Sharapova was honored by the US Open Monday night.
Primetime Recap: New Cut Carlos, Ruud Returns
Fresh-cut Carlos Alcaraz began his 2025 US Open campaign with a sweep over Reilly Opelka Monday night. While his buzz cut drew the attention from fans on social media (and Frances Tiafoe), it was the same old Alcaraz.
With the 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win, the Spaniard joined Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal as the only men in the Open Era to win their first 19 Grand Slam opening-round matches.
Remember, Alcaraz lost in the second round of last year’s US Open, meaning he has plenty of rankings points to add as he looks to regain the World No. 1 spot over Jannik Sinner.
Meanwhile, on Louis Armstrong, No. 11 seed Casper Ruud swept Sebastian Ofner in his first match at a major since Paris. He missed Wimbledon due to a knee injury suffered at Roland-Garros.
The 2022 US Open finalist will next face Raphael Collignon of Belgium.
Wong Breaks New Ground for Hong Kong
21-year-old Coleman Wong became the first player from Hong Kong to win a men’s singles match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era. In the World No. 173’s main draw debut at a major, he beat Aleksander Kovacevic in straights and sets up a second round meeting against Adam Walton.
A pretty good first two days for products of the Rafa Nadal Academy.
Top Seeds Advance
American Frances Tiafoe began his US Open campaign with a sweep over Yoshihito Nishioka on Arthur Ashe. The No. 17 seed will square off against fellow American Martin Damm in the second round.
No. 5 seed Jack Draper got past Federico Agustin Gomez in four sets after dropping the second. After losing the first set, Karen Khachanov, seeded ninth, took the next three to beat American Nishesh Basavareddy.
Contenders Carry On: No. 11 Holger Rune, No. 15 Andrey Rublev, No. 24 Flavio Cobolli & No. 31 Gabriel Diallo all keep their Grand Slam hopes alive and advanced to the second round.
Lurking in the draw: Cameron Norrie advanced after Sebastian Korda was forced to retire due to injury. Joao Fonseca clinched a straight-set win over Miomir Kecmanovic and sets up a Round 2 meeting with No. 21 Tomas Machac.
Tristan Boyer and Jenson Brooksby join Tiafoe and Damm as the Americans to win on Monday.
Off the court, Andre Agassi was given the “Serving Up Dreams” award by the USTA Foundation.
Grand Slam ‘Hellos’ & ‘Goodbyes’
Building off Jon Wertheim’s ‘Theme of the Day’: Hello, Renata Zarazua.
The only Mexican player in the singles draw pulled off the upset of the tournament (so far) on Monday. She came back to beat No. 6 seed Madison Keys in the deciding set 7-5. Zarazua secured her first Top 10 win and will meet Diane Parry in the second round.
Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, committed 89 unforced errors in the loss.
Another upset came when World No. 97 Anna Bondar beat No. 12 seed Elina Svitolina in straight sets. The 28-year-old from Hungary has never advanced past the Round of 64 at a major.
Barbora Krejcikova defeated rising teenage star Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-2.
Out of the 12 American women in action on Monday, only Taylor Townsend, 17-year-old Iva Jovic, Peyton Stearns and Ann Li won their matches.
Seeded & Advanced: No. 9 Elena Rybakina, No. 15 Daria Kasatkina, No. 17 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 19 Elise Mertens, No. 28 Magdalena Frech, and No. 29 Anna Kalinskaya are all through to the second round.
Flushing Meadows Farewells
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova retired from professional tennis on Monday, following her loss to Diane Parry. Over a near 20-year professional career, Kvitova won 31 singles titles.
Later in the day, Caroline Garcia played in the final match of her 15-year career. A 2022 US Open semifinalist, Garcia won 11 singles titles and won two French Open trophies in doubles.
Read more about their retirements.
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Down & Out
No. 6 Madison Keys def. by Renata Zarazua
No. 12 Elina Svitolina def. by Anna Bondar
No. 22 Victoria Mboko def. by Barbora Krejcikova
No. 30 Dayana Yastremska def by. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
No. 22 Ugo Humbert def. by Adam Walton
No. 28 Alex Michelsen def. by Francisco Comesana
1 — Renata Zarazua is the first woman from Mexico to beat a Top 10 seed at the US Open in the Open Era.
3 — Zeynep Sonmez became the third Turkish player in the Open Era to win a singles main draw match at the US Open, after Marsel Ilhan and Cagla Buyukakcay.
62 — Petra Kvitova retired from tennis with the most appearances by a Czech woman in singles Grand Slams (62).
Quick Served Day 1 poll question results: 75% of you answered that Medvedev’s Meltdown was your biggest takeaway from Day 1.
Primetime Preview: Tuesday, August 26
No. 3 seed Coco Gauff looks to shake off her post-French Open title woes as the 2023 US Open Champion meets Ajla Tomljanovic on Arthur Ashe at 7 p.m.
Two-time US Open winner and No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka will face Greet Minnen on Louis Armstrong at 7 p.m.
No. 14 seed Tommy Paul meets Elmer Moller in the opening round of a major for the second time in 2025, with Paul winning their matchup in Paris. Tuesday’s match will be on Louis Armstrong at 8:30 p.m.
Is it time for Alexander Zverev’s major breakthrough? The No. 3 seed begins his US Open campaign against Alejandro Tabilo at 8:30 p.m. on Arthur Ashe.
All match times are in Eastern Time.
Tuesday’s Full Schedule of Play.
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