Zheng advances as Shang, Wang bow out in US Open first round

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China's Zheng Qinwen in the women's singles first-round against Russia's Kristina Liutova at the US Open in Queens, New York, USA, August 31, 2026. /US Open

Zheng Qinwen battled back from a set down to reach the second round of the US Open on Monday, while fellow Chinese Shang Juncheng and Wang Xiyu suffered opening-round defeats in New York.

Zheng, who had to come through qualifying after injury problems sent her ranking down to World No. 121, overcame 16-year-old Russian qualifier Kristina Liutova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Liutova took control of the opening set and held off a late response from Zheng to win it 6-4. The Paris 2024 Olympic champion raised her level from the second set onwards, taking it 6-3 before dominating the decider 6-1.

Zheng fired 10 aces and won 75 percent of her first-serve points. She converted six of 16 break-point opportunities and won 93 points to Liutova's 75.

The victory extended Zheng's winning run at Flushing Meadows to four matches after she defeated You Xiaodi, Clara Burel and Elena Pridankina in qualifying. She will face either Switzerland's Belinda Bencic or Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the second round.

China's Shang Juncheng hits a shot in the men's singles first-round match against Argentina's Marco Trungelliti at the US Open in Queens, New York, USA, August 31, 2026. /US Open

In the men's singles, Shang saw a two-sets-to-one advantage slip away after Argentina's Marco Trungelliti fought back for a five-set victory.

Shang stormed through the opening set 6-0 before Trungelliti levelled the contest by taking the second in a tiebreak 7-6(5). The Chinese responded emphatically with a 6-1 third set win. However, his 36-year-old opponent turned the match around by winning the final two sets 6-3, 6-4 to complete victory.

China's Wang Xiyu in the first-round against Poland's Iga Swiatek at the US Open in Queens, New York, USA, August 31, 2026. /VCG

Wang was also eliminated after falling 6-2, 6-3 to Poland's Iga Swiatek. The eighth seed needed one hour and 28 minutes to seal the straight-sets victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Swiatek established a 3-1 advantage in the opening set before adding another break to take it 6-2. Wang stayed with the 2022 US Open champion through the first seven games of the second set, but Swiatek broke in the eighth and then served out the match.

The Polish star, who is chasing her seventh Grand Slam trophy, will meet Argentina's Nadia Podoroska in the second round.

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