September 1, 2026 — 5:50am
New milestone unlocked.
Facing a fourth straight first-round defeat at the US Open, Australia’s Kim Birrell reversed her fortunes with a typically gutsy performance to overcome Croatia’s Petra Marcinko in three sets and win for the first time in New York.
The 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 triumph booked a second-round clash with 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and propelled Birrell to a live ranking of No.55, which would be a career high if she maintains it.
Birrell, who overcame two career-threatening elbow surgeries before she even threatened to be a top-100 player, has now won at least one match at all four grand slams, highlighted by her round-of-32 run at the 2019 Australian Open.
