Canada's Leylah Fernandez was eliminated from the U.S. Open after losing to third-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States in the third round. ^[1] Jessica Pegula, seeded world number three, defeated Leylah Fernandez of Canada in three sets to reach the US Open fourth round. ^[2] Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round of the US Open by defeating Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan. ^[3] The match ended with a score of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in favor of Jessica Pegula. ^[4] The match took place on Friday, September 4, 2026, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. ^[5] Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Jaime Faria of Portugal 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open. ^[6] Iga Swiatek defeated Nadia Podoroska of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open on Thursday, September 4, 2026, playing the first match on court. ^[7] Leylah Fernandez, a 23-year-old from Laval, Quebec, started the match strongly by breaking Pegula's serve to lead 5-1 in the first set. ^[8] Aryna Sabalenka halted play during her match against Kamilla Rakhimova because of the smell of cannabis. ^[9] Eric Butorac described the scheduling of Serena and Venus Williams' doubles match, saying they placed them in a match and communicated with Aryna Sabalenka's team to have her play on Armstrong court. ^[10] Eric Butorac said he has had top players become very upset, using foul language, but he tries to be honest with them rather than telling them a story that isn't true. ^[11] Eric Butorac said that if a player always puts in a request, they might not get their wish every time, whereas if someone rarely requests but makes a good case, he might consider it more. ^[12]