US Open qualifying starts as British hopefuls begin New York push

Qualifying gets under way at Flushing Meadows today, bringing the first competitive action of this year’s US Open and an immediate focus on the British players trying to earn their place in the main draw.

Q1 matches begin from 18:00 UTC, 19:00 in the UK, with Jacob Fearnley, Liam Broady and Heather Watson among the British names due on court. With three wins needed to reach the main draw, today is the first step in a four-day qualifying battle in New York.

British interest: a busy Q1 board

Jacob Fearnley is one of the first British names due on court, opening against Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena. Liam Broady follows against former Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato, while Harry Wendelken faces Stefano Travaglia, Billy Harris plays Gonzalo Bueno and Toby Samuel meets Francesco Maestrelli.

Heather Watson gives the women's qualifying draw a familiar British name, with a first-round match against Claire Liu. Felix Gill is also scheduled late in the day against Francesco Passaro. Looking further down the order of play, Jack Pinnington Jones, Henry Searle, Katie Swan, Jodie Burrage, Francesca Jones and Harriet Dart are all listed in the wider qualifying schedule, so the British watchlist should stay full into Tuesday.

What happened overnight

The biggest completed result in the last 24 hours came away from New York, where Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-4 in the Cincinnati final. That all-American result matters for the US Open conversation: Gauff gets another hard-court title-level marker, Pegula still leaves with high-end match rhythm, and both arrive in the New York swing with recent evidence behind them.

Winston-Salem also moved into first-round play. Rinky Hijikata beat Darwin Blanch 6-4 7-6(2), Jenson Brooksby beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3 6-2, Miomir Kecmanovic beat Sho Shimabukuro 6-4 6-3, Francisco Comesana beat Wu Yibing 6-3 6-4, and Mattia Bellucci came through Martin Landaluce 6-4 6-7(3) 6-1. Adolfo Daniel Vallejo advanced when Pablo Carreno Busta retired at 6-4 3-0.

On the WTA side, Monterrey produced several late-night results. Oleksandra Oliynykova beat Mayar Sherif 6-3 6-4, Nikola Bartunkova beat Antonia Ruzic 6-4 6-3 and Yuliia Starodubtseva beat Lilli Tagger 6-3 6-4. In qualifying there, Maya Joint recovered from a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva 0-6 6-3 6-1, while Maria Timofeeva edged Kamilla Rakhimova 3-6 6-3 7-6(1).

What to watch next

For New York, the first checkpoint is simple: who gets through Q1 cleanly, and who is forced into long physical matches before the tournament has properly started? Fearnley against Carballes Baena is the standout British test on paper. The fourth-seeded Brit arrives after winning the Newport Challenger title, but faces an experienced opponent who has spent much of his career competing at tour level.

Watson also has a difficult opener against sixth seed Claire Liu, while Francesca Jones enters qualifying as the third seed after consecutive WTA 125 titles in Rome and Palermo. With 14 British players in the qualifying draws, there should be plenty to follow across the opening rounds.