Kim Birrell Stuns No.5 Seed Pegula in Roland-Garros 2026 Opener The first round of the men’s and women’s singles at Roland-Garros 2026 kicked off with dramatic results, including a historic upset as Australian world No.83 Kim Birrell defeated top-5 seed Jessica Pegula in a three-set thriller on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The 28-year-old’s 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory marks her best performance by ranking, her first win over a top-5 player, and her maiden triumph at a Grand Slam tournament. Pegula, the highest-seeded player to exit the singles draw so far, will now face Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round on Thursday. Birrell, who had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam before, described the win as the best match of her career on clay. “I’m so happy to play probably the best match I’ve ever played on clay,” she said on court, highlighting her resilience after dropping the first set. The Australian’s victory sets up a potential clash with world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the second round, should the Italian progress past his first-round match against French wildcard Clement Tabur. Top seed Sinner continued his dominance, wrapping up a 6-1, 6-3 victory over world No.171 Clement Tabur on Court Philippe-Chatrier in just 30 minutes. The Italian, now on a 29-match winning streak, will next face Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Meanwhile, fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who had previously lost a set to Daniel Altmaier, is still in the hunt after taking the second set on Lenglen, though the German remains a break up in the third. The tournament also saw a marathon match as 20-year-old Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce edged past Bolivian opponent Juan Carlos Prado Angelo in a grueling 4-hour-30-minute encounter on Court 9.#jannik_sinner #jessica_pegula #kim_birrell #oleksandra_olinykov #clement_tabur
