In what has been a disappointing tournament for many of the big names in women’s tennis, three more former Grand Slam champions have all been knocked out in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
After reuniting with former coach Kamau Murray, 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens is yet to improve on what has been a poor season. The 11th seeded American lost 3-6 4-6 to the unseeded Anna Kalinskaya in front of her home crowd in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
While currently ranked 41 in the WTA rankings, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka is a two-time Australian Open winner and former world number one. Her career has taken a dive in recent years, and she is yet to show signs of a comeback following a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat to 9th seeded Aryna Sabalenka, a fellow Belarusian.
Another two-time Grand Slam winner is the Russian-born Svetlana Kuznetsova. While she impressed in the Cincinnati Masters, defeating Sloane Stephens, Karolina Pliskova and Ashleigh Barty en route to the final, her form has taken a turn for the worse following a 7-5 6-2 loss to American Kristie Ahn.
These are just some of the latest tennis veterans to fall at the first hurdle in what has already been a tournament of upsets.
