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World No. 83 Kimberly Birrell snapped a five-match losing streak and came from a set down to stun No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round of the French Open 2026 in Paris for the first time.
Australia's Birrell is now one win away from reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2019. Her victory also ended a nine-match streak of first-round losses at major tournaments, dating back to 2023, according to the WTA website. For Jessica Pegula, the defeat marks the second consecutive year she has suffered a first-round exit at a Grand Slam, following her opening-round loss at Wimbledon last year. Earlier, defending French Open champion Coco Gauff progressed to the second round with a comfortable 6-4, 6-0 victory over fellow American Taylor Townsend. With the win, Gauff reached the Round of 64 in Paris for the seventh straight tournament. The opening-round clash was the first meeting between Coco Gauff and Taylor Townsend on the WTA Tour, although Townsend had previously defeated a 15-year-old Gauff in three sets at a W100 event in Charleston in 2019. Seven years later, the reigning French Open champion entered as the clear favourite, while Townsend has not progressed beyond the first round in Paris since 2018. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also produced a commanding display to begin her French Open campaign, beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sabalenka handled every challenge in the match with ease, taking control of both sets by racing to commanding leads of 4-0 in the first and 5-0 in the second. During these dominant stretches, she was in complete command of her game. (ANI)
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