Heavy rain in New York forced tournament organizers to postpone a wave of opening-round matches at the US Open, scrambling the tournament schedule and leaving several high-profile encounters suspended mid-battle.
According to tournament reports from the grounds at Flushing Meadows, Tuesday’s downpours washed out numerous matches and interrupted others near their conclusions. Among the most dramatic suspensions involved Spanish player Paula Badosa, who held a 6-1, 5-4 lead and sat at 40-40 on her serve—just two points away from sealing victory—when officials were forced to halt play. Tournament schedulers arranged for Badosa to resume her match on Wednesday, September 2, with play slated to pick up at approximately 18:30 local time.
The weather delays compelled tournament officials to overhaul the daily order of play, compressing multiple fixtures into a congested Wednesday slate. However, matches scheduled on the tournament’s primary show courts remained largely insulated due to roofs, preserving a structured format featuring two morning-session matches and two evening-session encounters.
Carlos Alcaraz Faces Jaime Faria in Second-Round Action
Among the marquee fixtures protected by a stadium roof is Carlos Alcaraz’s second-round clash against Portuguese player Jaime Faria. Born in 2003, the two players belong to the same generation, though their professional trajectories have diverged sharply; Alcaraz arrives with an established Grand Slam résumé, while the 72nd-ranked Faria navigated qualifying draws to secure his main-draw berths across the Grand Slam circuit, bypassing the qualifying rounds only at this year’s US Open.
Faria enters the contest carrying momentum from hard-court success, highlighted by a victory over Shelton earlier this season at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Alcaraz, meanwhile, posted an encouraging performance in his opening-round straight-sets win over Roman Safiullin, showing confidence in his forehand after returning from a four-and-a-half-month competitive layoff.
With time zone adjustments factored in for international viewers, tournament schedules place Alcaraz’s second-round meeting with Faria during the overnight hours in Spain—transitioning from Wednesday, September 2, into Thursday, September 3. Following an opening women’s match between Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Iatcenko scheduled for 01:00 (00:00 in the Canary Islands), Alcaraz and Faria are expected on court around 03:00 local time, depending on the duration of the preceding match.
Rafa Jódar Debuts Against China’s Bu in Rescheduled Fixture
For Spanish newcomer Rafa Jódar, the weather delays pushed back his maiden appearance at the US Open. Jódar, contesting his first-ever main-draw matches at a major tournament this season, received a late opponent change when Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from the event. Instead of facing Kokkinakis, Jódar will square off against China’s Bu (ranked 124th), with their first-round encounter assigned to Court 17 not before 19:00 local time.
The congested Wednesday schedule also forces several other Spanish contenders back onto the courts to finish or contest delayed fixtures. Jaume Munar meets Arthur Rinderknech on Court 10 starting at 17:00, while Dani Mérida takes on Andrey Rublev at the same time on Court 11. On Court 12, Carlos Taberner is scheduled to resume his delayed first-round match against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs around 20:30, with Bergs leading 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-1.
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