Coco Gauff vs Zeynep Sonmez - Preview & Prediction - 2026 US Open

Coco Gauff vs Zeynep Sonmez — full preview, head-to-head breakdown and prediction for their FIRST ROUND match at the 2026 US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York. The Cincinnati champion opens her home Slam against Turkey's trailblazer.

Coco Gauff could not have timed her form better. The fourth seed and World No. 4 arrives in New York having just won the Cincinnati Open — her first title of 2026, her second Cincinnati crown, her fourth WTA 1000 and her 12th career title — beating Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 in the first all-American women's final there in 56 years. After dropping the opening set of her first match to Liudmila Samsonova, she won TEN CONSECUTIVE SETS to close out the tournament, and moved to 40-13 on the season. The parallel is impossible to ignore: in 2023 a Cincinnati title was the springboard to her maiden Grand Slam in this exact building weeks later.

Zeynep Sonmez has quietly had the best year of her career. The Turkish No. 1 started 2026 ranked outside the top 100 and climbed to a career-high World No. 54 — already the highest-ranked Turkish player in WTA history — with a third-round run at the Australian Open and breakthrough weeks in Madrid, Nottingham and Toronto, where she beat home favorite Rebecca Marino before running into Maria Sakkari.

First career meeting. A red-hot top-four seed on her favourite court against a player with nothing to lose and a nation behind her. Can Sonmez cause the shock of the opening round?

🎾 IN THIS VIDEO

- Why Gauff is arguably the form player in the women's draw

- What Sonmez needs to do to make this competitive

- The pressure of a home Slam and how Gauff has handled it before

- Prediction, scoreline, and what's next in this section

📊 MATCH INFO

Tournament: 2026 US Open (Grand Slam)

Round: First Round — Women's Singles

Players: Coco Gauff (USA, No. 4, 4th seed) vs Zeynep Sonmez (TUR, No. 54)

Head-to-head: First meeting

Surface: Outdoor Hard

Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York

💬 Straight sets or an upset? Predicted scoreline in the comments.

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⚠️ Independent tennis analysis and commentary. Predictions are opinion only and not betting advice. Not affiliated with the USTA, the WTA or the US Open.

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