Kazakhstani tennis player Damir Zhalgasbay, paired with American Safir Azam, won their first-round match in the junior US Open 2026 doubles against the Thai-Indian duo Kunanan Pantaratorn/Arnav Paparkar – 6:4, 6:2. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In the first set, the decisive moment was a break by 18-year-old Zhalgasbay and 16-year-old Azam in the tenth game. In the second set, Damir and Safir started even more confidently. Taking a 3:0 lead with a break, they confidently closed out the match. The match lasted 58 minutes.
In the quarterfinal race, the Kazakh-American pair will face Hugh Kawanishi and Kanta Watanabe. In the first round, the Japanese pair defeated Americans Michael Antonius and Jordan Lee, the third seeds, 6:3, 7:5.
In singles, Zhalgasbay put his racket away after his first match against another American, Jack Secord.
Elena Rybakina continues her campaign in New York. The world No. 2 could become No. 1 after tomorrow's quarterfinal against China's Zheng Qinwen.
The US Open is an annual Grand Slam tennis tournament on hard courts. It is the last of the four majors in the calendar year. The total prize fund of $108 million is a record for majors.
Since 1978, matches have been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
The reigning men's champion is Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Sinner in last year's final. The Spaniard, after beating Tommy Paul (21) of the USA, Bublik's nemesis, 6:4, 6:3, 6:4, advanced to the quarterfinals of this year's tournament.
In women's singles, the 2025 champion was Aryna Sabalenka. In the final, she defeated Amanda Anisimova of the USA. The Belarusian today reached the 2026 semifinals, beating Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic – 7:6 (7:1), 3:6, 7:6 (10:7).