Saturday's third round of the women's US Open brings several compelling matchups in the bottom half of the draw. The highest seeds - Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff - face increasingly difficult challenges, while Naomi Osaka looks to extend her impressive run under new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. The day also features an all-Czech clash between former semifinalists Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
Osaka vs. Kasatkina
Two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka meets 15th seed Daria Kasatkina in the intriguing clash of styles. Osaka has impressed in New York, defeating Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4 and Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round. Under new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, Swiatek's former mentor, the Japanese star has won eight of her last nine matches. The former World No. 1 parted ways with coach Patrick Mouratoglou in July 2025 and began working with Wiktorowski at the 2025 Canadian Open, where she advanced into final.
Kasatkina moved on to the next stage with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win Kamilla Rakhimova after earlier defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse 7-5, 6-1. The 15th seed was 1-4 down in decisive set against Rakhimova, to continue the good streak of results in majors this year. The 2025 season is disappointing for Kasatkina who holds just 15-15 record but she showed her best in Grand Slams out of all the venues - being in 4th round in Melbourne and Roland Garros and reaching out the 3rd round at Wimbledon.
Their head-to-head history strongly favors Osaka, who has won both previous meetings, most recently 6-3, 6-3 in the third round of Rome 2024. The Japanese star looks solid on New York courts and surely wants to replicate the run simillar to those which granted her two titles there in 2018 and 2020. Osaka is a dominant server, being 4th best in terms of 1st serve points won and service games won percentage in the ranking period. Kasatkina is on the opposite pole struggling with serve very much and being ranked in the lowest zones of serving stats for the ranking period however she is 7th best in terms of winning return games and 11th best in returning 2nd serve, according to our new statistical ranking feature which you can explore inside players' profiles.
Swiatek vs. Kalinskaya
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek enters as the heavy favorite against 29th seed Anna Kalinskaya in their third-round encounter. The Polish star reached this stage after a challenging 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Suzan Lamens, where she battled inconsitency despite being a banker pre-match favorite. Her season record stands at an impressive 51-12, with her latest victory extending her winning streak to seven matches, including triumphs at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.
29th seed Anna Kalinskaya has navigated quite a challenging path into third round. She got pushed by the 19 years-old AMerican Clervie Ngounoue to tight three sets despite winning the opener by 6-0. She prevailed by 6-4 in decisive set which was all to play for with both players being level till the last to games. She followed that win by beating Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 7-5 in the second round. This marks Kalinskaya's second consecutive third-round appearance at Flushing Meadows. She carries the 21-16 record this year including 12-9 on hard courts, however her latest form is promising, including the run into final in Washington and recent quarterfinal in Cincinnati. The head-to-head history favors Swiatek, who defeated Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4 in their quarterfinal meeting at Cincinnati just weeks ago. Swiatek won 82.8% (24/29) of her first serve points and excellent 62.5% on second serve. The Pole will aim to replicate that dominant performance and extend her remarkable streak of reaching the third round in 23 consecutive Grand Slam events.
Gauff vs. Frech
Third seed Coco Gauff faces 28th seed Magdalena Frech in a match that will serve as another test of the American's revamped serving motion. Gauff advanced through two grueling battles - 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 over Ajla Tomljanovic and 7-6(5), 6-2 against Donna Vekic. In the second set against Vekic, Gauff looked significantly stronger: making fewer errors, putting up more consistent serves and outplaying Vekic in nearly every category after a tearful first set where she committed 8 double faults.
Magdalena Frech cruised to the third round with victories over Talia Gibson 6-2, 6-2 and Peyton Stearns by 6-7(6) 6-3 6-2. It's just a second time this season when Frech wins two consecutive matches, but she did it in style against Stearns, where she was not rated as a pre-match favorite. The American looked like possesing more tools to win the rallies directly, but the patience of the Pole got paid for an effort. She was able to come back from 2-5 down to force a tie-break in opening set and even had setpoints there, but did not close it. The 28th seed did not discouraged herself as she won second set with a very solid all-round game and continued to push further against disregulated Stearns in second set.
While Gauff remains the clear favorite, her recent instability - particularly the serving issues under reconstruction - gives Frech a legitimate upset opportunity. The American has acknowledged that changing technique just before such an important tournament represents an enormous mental challenge, especially as the US Open is her most stressful event of the year. Frech can already be proud of her positive campaign in New York up to this point, so she has nothing to lose and all to play for attitude can pay off.
Muchova vs. Noskova
The all-Czech battle between 11th seed Karolina Muchova and 21st seed Linda Noskova promises to be one of the day's most intriguing contests. Muchova, a US Open semifinalist in 2023 and 2024, defeated Venus Williams 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 and Sorana Cîrstea 6-7 (0), 7-6 (3), 4-6, after almost 3 hours of play. The 29-year-old seeks her third consecutive semifinal at Flushing Meadows and carries a 17-12 record this season.
The 22-year-old Noskova advanced after beating Dalma Galfi 6-4, 7-5 and receiving a walkover when Eva Lys retired at 6-4, 3-0. The younger Czech plays in the US Open third round for the first time and will look to spring an upset. Noskova presents a 29-21 season record, including 17-12 on hard courts.
This marks their first career meeting. Muchova enters as the favorite given her experience and impressive US Open results in recent years, but the lack of extensive match practice this year can be concerning for Muchova after physical demands of first two matches.
Haddad Maia vs. Sakkari
Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia faces Greece's Maria Sakkari in a matchup between to players who are about to look for the comeback to the form from last years. Haddad Maia reached the third round with victories over Sonay Kartal 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 and Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-4. This is the first time that Haddad Maia wins two consecutive matches since June and just fourth in the extremely overwhelming season with just 12 wins and 23 losses. She will do everything to backup the points from last year's quarterfinal not to slip down in the ranking massively which still seems imminent with much of points to defend till the end of season.
The win marks Sakkari's first progression to the last 32 of a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2023. It is also the first time since 2021 — when she memorably reached the semi-finals in New York — that Sakkari has made it past the second round at the US Open. The Greek defeated Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-2 and Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-1, displaying solid tennis again after a huge slump in the rankings. The former world No. 3 slowly recovers, as she holds a 22-24 season record, with a sign of some another positive results to come. The history overwhelmingly favors the South American. Haddad Maia has won all four previous encounters, most recently 6-4, 6-4 in Madrid 2024. The Brazilian will carry a psychological advantage, but Sakkari believes she's returning to top form and can break her losing streak in this rivalry.
