US Open 2025: Katie Boulter & Sonay Kartal bow out in opening round defeats

British No.2 Boulter bowed out to 27^th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 on Grandstand Court.

Kartal came up against 18^th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and despite fighting back from a set down, physical difficulties soon crept in and the Brit lost out in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 defeat.

For Boulter, it’s only the second time she’s lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam in the last four seasons (Roland Garros, 2024).

The Ukrainian star – currently ranked as the world No.28 – clinched her first win over the Briton, having lost their only previous meeting in the 2024 San Diego final.

Boulter had three break point opportunities in the final game of the second set, before Kostyuk sealed the match on her sixth time of asking.

“Coming back from 0-40, serving for the match, she had been on a roll and I really didn’t want to restart the set,” Kostyuk said. “I’m really glad I could close it in two.

“That one (San Diego) was really tough. I was playing in a (WTA) 500 for the title, and I still remember that match. I feel like Katie was playing unbelievable that week; she beat some really good players. It’s a different day, different year, and everything changes quickly in tennis, so I’m glad I got that one.”

Boulter did well to overturn a break deficit in the opening set and drew level at 4-4, but the Brit’s serve let her down in big moments throughout the match, and she couldn’t back it up.

In the following game, Boulter missed a short ball wide to go 15-40 down and then hit a fourth double fault of the set to hand the advantage straight back to her opponent.

The Briton hit a perfectly executed drop shot to see off one set point in the next game, but once again Kostyuk responded well with a second serve ace and another big serve to see out the first set.

Double faults were a recurring issue for Boulter, especially through the opening three games of the second set, in which the pair exchanged three breaks of serve.

Boulter showed immense fighting spirit to see off five match points on her serve at 5-3 and had 0-40 on Kostyuk’s serve to level at 5-5.

On the brink of losing what would have been a devastating game, Kostyuk conjured up several impressive serves to overturn the break points and then punched away a forehand winner on her sixth match point to seal the victory.

For Kartal, today’s match marker her US Open main draw debut and the British No.3 was bidding to beat her opponent for the second time this season, after securing victory over the Brazilian at Indian Wells back in March.

It was a slow start for the Briton, who took her time adapting to the fast conditions on Court 12. Meanwhile, Haddad Maia came out firing from the get-go and was rewarded with a break in the sixth game of the match.

Kartal managed to immediately recover the deficit, but the joy didn’t last for long as Haddad Maia secured a third consecutive break before serving out the set with a hold to love.

We’ve become accustomed to seeing Kartal’s cool and calm demeanour on court over the past 12 months and today was no different. With the 18^th seed unable to carry the intensity into the second set, Kartal made her move early as she raced out to a 3-0 lead.

The Brazilian struggled to find any rhythm or consistency on serve, landing just 48% of first serves in the second set compared to Kartal’s 71%.

The British No.3 took full advantage of her opponent’s troubles and ramped up the power on the return where she won 15/27 points in the second.

Staring at a fifth break point of the match, the Brighton-born star launched a deep forehand into the baseline which Haddad Maia returned long on as the Brit sealed the double break on her way to forcing a deciding set at Flushing Meadows.

However, things took a heartbreaking turn for Kartal who looked visibly hampered at the start of the third. The Brazilian capitalised off of the Brit’s restricted movement as she reeled off the opening four games in a row to take a commanding lead.

Just when it looked like Haddad Maia was sprinting to the finish line, the 29-year-old quickly pulled up with some struggles of her own as the pair failed to move within a couple of steps of the ball.

That said, the world No.22 managed to pull through, eventually punching her ticket to the second round on her third match point as Kartal netted a backhand return.

There's still plenty of British action to come in New York today with Francesca Jones, British No.3 Jacob Fearnley and lucky loser Billy Harris all featuring in first round action.