Putintseva rallies to stun Bencic in US Open first round
Yulia Putintseva came from a set down to upset No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the US Open first round on Tuesday in New York. The former quarterfinalist Putintseva sealed the 2-hour, 51-minute win with a love break as Bencic double-faulted, advancing to face Zheng Qinwen next.
Key Takeaways
- Putintseva rallied past No. 12 Bencic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 51 minutes at Flushing Meadows.
- It is her best win of the 2026 WTA season and first Top 20 victory since Adelaide 2025.
- She hit six aces, broke five times, and won 81% of net points (13 of 16).
- Next up is Zheng Qinwen; Putintseva leads their head-to-head 2-0.
What happened in Putintseva vs Bencic?
Six years after upsetting No. 8 Petra Martic en route to a 2020 US Open quarterfinal, Yulia Putintseva produced another New York stunner. World No. 84 Putintseva of Kazakhstan defeated Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the tournament's No. 12 seed and Tokyo Olympic champion, after trailing a set.
Bencic started strongly following a long rain delay, racing to 3-0 and taking the opening set. She again led 2-0 in the second, yet never settled into a lasting rhythm against the tenacious Kazakh. Putintseva leveled the match 7-5 in the second set, then closed the decider by winning the last four games.
Why does this Putintseva upset matter?
The result ranks as Putintseva's best win of the 2026 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz season. It is also her first victory over a Top 20 opponent since she beat Diana Shnaider at Adelaide 2025. For Bencic, a 2019 US Open semifinalist, it was another early exit as the No. 12 seed after last year's second-round loss.
Swiss coverage noted she was the last of four Swiss players—three women and wild-card Stan Wawrinka—to fall in the first round, leaving Switzerland winless at this year's US Open. Bencic said her game "completely fell apart" and called it a "mega, mega frustrating moment" after nearly three hours.
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How did Putintseva win the match?
Statistically, Putintseva outperformed Bencic across the board. She served six aces and won 56% of second-serve points, well above her season average. At the net she won 13 of 16 points (81%) versus Bencic's 10 of 24 (42%). She converted five of ten break points, struck 37 winners against 37 unforced errors, and finished with four double faults.
Three straight aces helped her hold for 5-3 in the third set—prompting an on-court joke that it was "like Andy Roddick woke up in me." She broke to love in the final game as Bencic double-faulted to end it. Frustration surfaced in racket tosses and, for Bencic, a second-set warning after a ball appeared to lightly strike a spectator.
Who does Putintseva play next at the US Open?
Putintseva next faces China's Zheng Qinwen, another former US Open quarterfinalist who has already won four matches this week after coming through qualifying. It will be their third meeting. Putintseva leads 2-0, though both prior matches were on clay, and Zheng retired down 7-5, 2-0 in their most recent clash at Madrid 2024.
"I'm happy. I'm already thinking about my next match," Putintseva said. "I have a tough draw and I have to prepare." Asked why Flushing Meadows keeps delivering big wins, she credited fighting spirit over court preference: sometimes it works, she said, and sometimes it does not.