US Open 2026: Pegula, Shelton, Medvedev Win on Day 4
Day 4 of the 2026 US Open produced a series of significant results in New York, as several top players moved into the later rounds of the tournament.
Jessica Pegula and Ben Shelton both recorded early wins, advancing to the next stage of the men's and women's singles draws.
Daniil Medvedev also secured a victory earlier in the day, keeping his own tournament run alive.
These results form part of a broader set of matches being tracked through the tournament's live updates, which offer fans continuous coverage of scores and outcomes as they happen.
Attention later on Day 4 turned to two of the sport's most prominent figures, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, both of whom were scheduled to play their matches as the day progressed.
Alcaraz and Sabalenka enter this year's tournament as defending champions, having won the men's and women's singles titles at the 2025 US Open respectively.
As a result, both are now pursuing a title defense, an attempt to win the same Grand Slam tournament in consecutive years.
Successfully defending a Grand Slam title is widely regarded as one of the more demanding achievements in professional tennis, given the physical and mental toll of a multi-round tournament held under significant scrutiny.
The US Open is one of tennis's four Grand Slam events, alongside the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon, and is considered among the most prestigious tournaments on the annual calendar.
With Pegula, Shelton, and Medvedev already through to further rounds, the results of the Alcaraz and Sabalenka matches later on Day 4 were expected to further shape the overall picture of the tournament's progress.
Both Alcaraz and Sabalenka were seen as strong favorites heading into their respective matches, reflecting their status as the reigning champions, though tennis tournaments frequently produce unexpected outcomes even among top-ranked competitors.
As Day 4 continued, further live updates were anticipated to confirm the outcomes of these high-profile matches and to indicate which players would carry momentum into the tournament's second week.
The combination of early wins from established contenders and the looming matches of the two defending champions underscored the competitive depth of this year's field.
Vocabulary7 words
- US Open
- a very important tennis tournament held in the United States
- advancing
- moving forward to a later stage of a competition
- live updates
- continuous news reports given while an event is happening
- defending champions
- players who won last time and are trying to win again
- title defense
- an attempt by a champion to win the same event again
- Grand Slam
- one of the four biggest tennis tournaments in the world
- favorites
- competitors expected to win
Quiz
Answer key
1. Pegula, Shelton, and Medvedev 2. Because of the physical and mental toll of a multi-round tournament under scrutiny 3. True
Discussion questions
- What factors might make it especially difficult to defend a Grand Slam title?
- How might live updates change the way fans experience a tennis tournament compared to watching a full match?
- Why do you think certain tournaments like the US Open are considered more prestigious than others?
- Do you think being a 'favorite' adds pressure to a player's performance? Why or why not?