Sabalenka Opens Three-Peat Bid With Dominant Win Over Osorio

Sabalenka Sets the Tone Early

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka needed less than an hour and a half to announce her intentions at the 2026 US Open on Monday, sweeping past Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4 to launch a historic bid for a third consecutive title at Flushing Meadows. The match lasted one hour and 27 minutes and was never in doubt from the moment the Belarusian settled into her rhythms on the hard courts of New York.

Sabalenka arrived as the clear favourite, and her commanding first-round performance did nothing to undermine that status. From the opening game she dictated every exchange, leaning on a formidable serve and explosive baseline game that Osorio simply had no answer for. The Colombian, a reliable competitor on the tour, could not find a way to extend rallies or force errors from a player who looked entirely at ease.

Numbers That Tell the Story

The statistics underline just how dominant Sabalenka has become at the US Open. Monday's victory extended her winning streak in New York to 14 consecutive matches — and, more strikingly still, it marked her 24th straight victory in the opening round of a Grand Slam tournament. No other active player in the women's game comes close to matching that level of consistency across tennis's biggest stages.

She dropped only three games across the two sets. The first set was effectively over inside 25 minutes, with Sabalenka breaking Osorio early and often. The second set was marginally more competitive as the Colombian steadied briefly, but the world No. 1 raised her level at the key moments and closed it out without drama.

Historic Company

A hat-trick of US Open titles would place Sabalenka in genuinely rarefied company. In the Open Era, only Steffi Graf (1995–1997) and Serena Williams (2012–2014) have won three consecutive women's singles titles here. Sabalenka, 28, has the power, the mentality, and the venue record to join them — and she looked every inch a player ready to take on that challenge.

"I feel very comfortable here," she said courtside after the win. "The crowd gives me energy, the conditions suit my game. I just try to take it match by match."

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Her hard-court form coming into the tournament had been strong, and the US Open has historically been the stage where she has produced her best tennis of the second half of the season. The draw gives her a manageable path into the second week, though the competition will intensify significantly from the quarterfinals onward.

The Wider Picture

Sabalenka is far from alone among the seeds to have started cleanly. Iga Swiatek, seeded eighth, was equally dominant in her opener on Monday, defeating Wang Xiyu 6-2, 6-3, while Elena Rybakina, the second seed and Australian Open champion, also advanced. Coco Gauff, seeded fourth and the defending champion two years ago, was among those yet to take the court as Tuesday's full schedule of first-round matches got under way.

For Sabalenka, however, the target is clear and the belief appears unshaken: defend what she built in 2024 and 2025, and write her name into the short list of players who have won three US Opens in a row. The first step is done, with 13 more wins required. The three-peat bid is officially on.