The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open. Welcome to the U.S. Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.On Day 6, a milestone repeated, a good day and a strange night for the Americans and a resurgent player breaking new ground.How did a star of last year’s U.S. Open honor her past self?Tennis is the only sport where players aren’t just battling their opponent, the elements and their own range of on a given day — they’re also competing against their past selves.Because the sport’s rankings system looks backwards 52 weeks, home favorite Taylor Townsend faced high stakes at the 2026 U.S. Open. Twelve months ago, the 30-year-old matched her career-best result at a Grand Slam by reaching the fourth round. Those points she accumulated in New York last year will fall off at the conclusion of this year’s tournament.That meant her third-round 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-3 win over No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider on Friday afternoon carried extra meaning.“I’ve been through so much over this year. I was so nervous coming into this tournament; I didn’t want my ranking to drop. I wanted to prove that I was just as good this year as last year,” Townsend said in a tearful on-court interview.U.S. Open round one: What did we learn?Ava Wallace and Johnny SweetA former top-ranked junior player and a doubles world No. 1, Townsend has felt the scrutiny of living in the public eye since she was a teenager, compounded by the loneliness of playing a sport where few other players look like her.Her perspective on her career shifted last year when she got a concussion during the Miami Open, an injury that frightened her because of how deceptive it was — she would feel fine one moment, then try to concentrate or do any physical activity and feel terrible.She returned to tennis with more gratitude, and the feeling that she isn’t playing to disprove her doubters, but to meet her own expectations.“I’m the kind of person where when I go through something, I kind of analyze it, and I’m, like, ‘OK, why is this happening and what did I learn from it?’ I’m always asking, ‘What did I learn?’” Townsend said in a news conference.“I leave my son for weeks at a time, you know, and that’s very hard for me just in itself. So when I leave and I come back, I want to come back with something, and it’s not always a trophy, but it’s an experience, it’s wisdom, it’s information. That is very valuable in itself.”Townsend hadn’t won a main draw singles match at a Grand Slam all year before her first-round win here. But some excellent serving — and a little pressure from her past self — has propelled her to a fourth-round matchup against Aryna Sabalenka.She said she’s ready for the challenge.— Ava WallaceHow did the Americans fare in the bid to reach the second week?The American roll got started early on Friday, but later than No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula might have liked. Pegula, the 2024 beaten finalist, got to the fourth round with a comeback win over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 beaten finalist, on Arthur Ashe Stadium.“I was like, it can’t be that much worse,” Pegula said after a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.“I think I knew my strategy. I think she played a bit differently than I’ve played her in the past. … But you still know what you have to execute, and I just tried to focus on that.”