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Sports · US Open 2026 · Women's Singles · Round of 64
Emma Navarro vs Caty McNally
Round of 64
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My pick: Emma Navarro to advance · locked 2026-09-01 01:20 UTCPrediction
The closest match in this batch, and the two ratings separate them by six points. They have played three times and Navarro leads 2-1 — including this exact round at this exact tournament a year ago, which she won 6-2 6-1 — but McNally took the most recent meeting on grass in June, from a set down. Their openers went opposite ways. Navarro survived a rain-interrupted 2 hours 46 minutes against Lois Boisson, 7-6(6) 6-7(1) 6-3, facing fifteen aces and taking four of eleven break points; McNally beat the qualifier Anouk Koevermans 7-5 6-1 in 102 minutes on a day when her serve produced no aces at all and six double faults, and she still won 74% of her first-serve points. Navarro is the 26th seed and a semi-finalist here in 2024, which is the strongest single line on either résumé; McNally is ranked 38 places lower and is having the better season, 24-20 to 20-18. Two Americans who have known each other since juniors, on a court neither will be favoured on by the crowd. Call it Navarro by a set.
The case for Emma Navarro
55% to winNavarro reached the semi-finals here two years ago and won this same round against this same opponent a year ago, 6-2 6-1. She has just come through the hardest match either of them played — three sets and two tiebreaks against a player who served fifteen aces — which is a better test than a straight-sets win over a qualifier. She is seeded; McNally is not.
The case for Caty McNally
45% to winMcNally is 24-20 for the season to Navarro's 20-18, is rated a fraction higher than her on hard courts, and beat her the last time they played, coming from a set down at 's-Hertogenbosch in June. Her opener cost her an hour less than Navarro's and she won 74% of her first-serve points without hitting an ace, which is a returning-and-holding profile that travels. Navarro has needed 2 hours 46 minutes and a deciding set to get here.
Both cases written 2026-09-01, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine — opinions with a percent sign on. They add to 100 because tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
Tale of the tape
Emma NavarroCaty McNallyPlayer vitals: US Open official player feed (usopen.org) and Tennis Abstract career match logs · as of 2026-08-28.
Career head-to-head: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-31.
The briefing
Storylines
- Navarro leads the head-to-head 2-1 and won this same round at this same tournament a year ago, 6-2 6-1.
- McNally won the most recent meeting, 4-6 6-0 6-4 on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch in June 2026.
- Navarro needed 2 hours 46 minutes and a deciding set to beat Lois Boisson 7-6(6) 6-7(1) 6-3, in a match rain suspended on Sunday night.
- McNally beat the qualifier Anouk Koevermans 7-5 6-1 without hitting an ace, winning 74% of her first-serve points.
- Navarro was a US Open semi-finalist in 2024; McNally's best here is the third round in 2020.
Head to head
Navarro leads 2-1. She won this same round here a year ago 6-2 6-1 and their first meeting at Indian Wells in 2023; McNally won the most recent, 4-6 6-0 6-4 on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch in June 2026.
Source: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-31.
Watch: Second-round coverage runs across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, with ESPN Deportes in Spanish — and every court streams in the ESPN app, which is where a match away from the two show courts will live. (ESPN press-room release and listings, as of 2026-08-27)
Court & schedule: Not yet assigned. The US Open posts each day's order of play the evening before, and this match has not reached the board yet. (Official US Open order-of-play release cadence, as of 2026-08-31)
Weather: Rain is the story of the week's opening, and it is forecast to get worse before it clears. Showers and thunderstorms are likely overnight — 72% under a low near 72°F — and Tuesday is the worst day on the board: near 81°F with storms likely through the day, 67%, and again after dark at 64%. Wednesday is the break in it, near 76°F on a 26% chance of showers, with a slight chance of storms returning overnight; Thursday is warm and unsettled again, near 84°F on 53%. Friday is the first clean day of the fortnight — near 82°F and mostly sunny after an early 15%. Ashe and Armstrong close their roofs and play on; everything else waits. (National Weather Service New York forecast, as of 2026-08-31)
Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York — hard.
At this Stage
The Round of 64 halves the draw again: 32 women's matches across Wednesday and Thursday, every one of them between players who have already won here this week. The seeds who came through the opening round now meet opponents with form behind them rather than a ranking.
Round of 128
Round of 32