Taylah Preston's US Open Exit and Kasatkina's Fight

Taylah Preston’s US Open run ended with a jolt, not a slow fade.

The 20-year-old wildcard, the first Australian woman to book a place in the second round this year, was also the first to bow out, dismantled 6-1, 6-1 by American shot-maker Taylor Townsend in just 48 brutal minutes.

Townsend’s power told from the opening game. Preston barely had time to settle before the American began dictating with heavy returns and first-strike aggression, rushing the young Australian and giving her no rhythm, no foothold, no way back. By the time Preston found a few clean strikes, the scoreboard was already a lost cause.

Her exit came on a busy day four for the Australian contingent at Flushing Meadows, a day that swung between hope, frustration and, in one case, sheer exasperation.

Kasatkina dragged to the brink

Australian women’s No.1 Daria Kasatkina departed as well, but she went down fighting in a stop-start saga that stretched across two days and tested every nerve on court.

Kasatkina and Spain’s Paula Badosa resumed their interrupted first-round duel after rain had halted play early in the second set on Tuesday morning (AEST). At that stage, Badosa led 6-1, 2-1 and looked to be cruising.

Then the drama began.

Kasatkina, serving at 3-5 in the second set, saved two match points in a marathon 22-point game, scrambling, defending, and somehow dragging rallies into her territory. She staved off a third match point soon after, only for officials to step in and call play off for the night as the rain returned.

Kasatkina, having just survived again, was delighted. Badosa was anything but. Forced to leave the court with the finish line in sight, the Spaniard cut a furious figure as she headed off, knowing she’d have to come back more than 15 hours later and try to serve it out cold.

When they returned, Badosa stepped up at 5-4, deuce in the second set, with the match still dangling on a knife’s edge. Kasatkina refused to fold. She saved another six match points and even carved out two break points of her own to level at 5-5, threatening to turn a match Badosa had controlled into a full-blown escape act.

The tension finally snapped. Badosa, once ranked world No.2, steadied at last and closed out the contest, securing a second-round showdown with defending champion Coco Gauff. For Kasatkina, it was a bitter exit, but one laced with defiance rather than surrender.

Aussies still in the fight

There is more Australian interest to come in New York.

Maya Joint is set to face ninth seed Elina Svitolina this morning, chasing a place in the third round in New York for a third straight year. The task is steep, but Joint has shown she can live with the big names on these courts.

Kim Birrell, meanwhile, steps in against Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova with real belief. That belief is not blind optimism: Birrell toppled world No.5 and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula at Roland Garros, a result that still echoes around the locker room. She knows an upset is possible because she has already delivered one on an even bigger name this season.

De Minaur rides out the weather

On the men’s side, New York’s stubborn weather tried its best to derail Alex de Minaur’s campaign before it had even begun.

Rain pushed back the top-ranked Australian’s first-round clash so far that former champion Daniil Medvedev and American hope Alex Michelsen were already safely into the third round before de Minaur finally walked onto court for his opener.

When he did, he wasted no time.

De Minaur tore into Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri, racing to a 6-2, 4-2 lead in just 49 minutes, his trademark court coverage and early striking pinning Guerrieri behind the baseline. The match looked like a sprint.

Then the skies opened again.

Forced to dash back to the locker room as the rain returned, de Minaur had to reset once more, the stop-start rhythm threatening to blunt his momentum. It didn’t. When play resumed, he picked up where he left off, closing out a clinical 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win to finally plant his flag in the draw.

The weather has already toyed with his schedule. The field is already moving on. But de Minaur is through, his legs fresh, his game sharp, and his US Open campaign—delayed, disrupted, but now underway—starting to gather pace.