The 2025 US Open begins on Sunday, August 24. A Sunday start is new this year, but for tennis fans, it means one more day of great tennis in New York City.
There are many fascinating first round matches, but here are the three to see.
1. Victoria Mboko vs. Barbora Krejcikova
The last we saw Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, she was hoisting the Canadian Open trophy. It was her first WTA tournament win, a 1000-level event at home.
Mboko comes into the US Open as World No. 24 and the second teenager to win a WTA 1000 tournament this year. (Mirra Andreeva won Indian Wells and Dubai.)
She faces 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova who is World No. 61.
Krejcikova has an 8-6 record this year, showing just how little she played in 2025 because of injuries.
How will Mboko handle the pressure of being the higher-ranked player and the favorite to win this match?
Mats Wilander gives his take on Victoria Mboko 🏆… pic.twitter.com/GmRZkQzKM5
— FirstSportz Tennis (@FS_Tennis1) August 22, 2025
2. Venus Williams vs. Karolina Muchova
45-year-old Venus Williams makes her return to the US Open and faces the two-time defending US Open semifinalist and World No. 12, Karolina Muchova.
Muchova and Williams played each other this week, flanked by their US Open Mixed Doubles partners Andrey Rublev and Reilly Opelka, respectively.
Williams has managed to keep some of the magic in her tennis after all of these years, but her serve will need to be on point against Muchova.
3. Alexandra Eala vs. Clara Tauson
Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala, who had her coming out party in Miami this spring, drew a tough first round opponent, World No. 15 Clara Tauson.
Eala is a junior US Open singles and doubles champion and is eager to make her main draw debut.
Tauson is 33-17 in 2025 and has enjoyed a lot of success including quarterfinal and semifinal appearances in Washington, DC and Montreal, Canada this summer.
The left-handed Eala is coming back from an injured left shoulder and will need her powerful forehand to be in tip-top shape against Tauson.
