US Open Recap: Townsend Cries, Gauff-Osaka $4000 Tickets, & More

August really slipped away into a moment in time. Cheers to a hopeful September—but the very first day of the year’s ninth month brings a stark reality for ardent tennis fans: less than a week remains before the final Grand Slam of 2025 comes to an end. Yet, that doesn’t take away from the excitement and sheer drama the US Open still promises in the coming days as we approach its climax. But before looking ahead, it’s only fair to take a moment to recap. From Taylor Townsend shedding tears to American outrage over $4,000 tickets, here’s a look at the highs and heartbreaks so far.

Taylor Townsend’s racket couldn’t speak but cried

“The thing that I’m most proud of is that I let my racket talk,” remarked Taylor Townsend to ESPN after her victory against Jelena Ostapenko in the second round clash. Sure, she was able to justify this claim after her third-round victory over Mirra Andreeva. However, that wasn’t the case in today’s round of 16 clash against Barbora Krejcikova, where the American endured a tough 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 defeat to the Czech star.

After an emotional end to her match that left her in tears at the bench, Taylor Townsend—one of just six Americans left in the US Open alongside Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz, and Ann Li—now shifts her focus to the doubles tournament with Kateřina Siniaková, hoping for a deep run that only time can confirm.

Daniil Medvedev endures a tough breakup after his US Open exit

The past few days have been quite happening for Daniil Medvedev. In his match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, he clashed with chair umpire Greg Allensworth and smashed his racket—an outburst that cost him a $42,500 fine, nearly 40% of his prize money. Following this meltdown, Medvedev’s team underwent a major shake-up.

According to @Olly_Tennis_ on X, longtime coach Gilles Cervara—who had worked with Medvedev since 2017—confirmed their split just days after the US Open loss, later posting a heartfelt message about the separation on Instagram, saying, “Daniil our fantastic eight-season adventure together comes to an end. Like a symbolic wink of life, it’s after this US Open tournament that we end our collaboration.”

Medvedev further extended his gratitude and thanked them for all the experiences they shared together on the court during all these years, insisting that this memory will be etched forever.

A price to pay for watching Gauff vs Osaka

Not everyone has decided their round of 16 fate. Today, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka will be taking their turns on the court. While Gauff enters with a decent 6-3,6-1 win over Magdalena Fręch, Osaka comes with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win. Given how both opponents enter the match with a close call, it makes it obvious for the entire tennis community to catch the action live at Arthur Ashe Stadium. However, there’s a catch.

For many fans, the excitement of watching the matches in person was cut short by skyrocketing ticket prices. Tennis journalist @christianscourt revealed that a verified resale ticket for the Gauff vs. Osaka clash was listed at a staggering $4,195. And that was just for one seat in section 55, row AA. And the shocking part? Even seats located much farther back came with equally inflated price tags.

Another account posted a screenshot from Ticketmaster showing that even for the round of 16 in men’s and women’s singles, resale prices were steep—$605.80 for a spot in section 313 and $699.00 in section 316. While ticket costs often climb with anticipation surrounding marquee matches, a jump from the typical $1.6K range to well over $4K didn’t sit well with the tennis community.

Novak Djokovic faces a serious dilemma at the US Open

On Sunday, Novak Djokovic cruised past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the men’s singles Round of 16, booking his place in yet another Grand Slam quarterfinal. But while reaching this stage is a major feat for the 24-time Grand Slam winner, it comes with a personal sacrifice—the match against No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz falls on his daughter Tara’s birthday.

Djokovic opened up on this reality in his post-match press conference. “It is what it is. We predicted that might happen. She was not very happy about it, me being absent from the birthday party. So, don’t remind me of that, please.”

Don’t worry—Djokovic has already sorted out his daughter’s birthday present. The Belgrade native, whose daughter Tara turns nine this Thursday, plans to send gifts for her party and hopes to add something even more special by winning his quarterfinal. He admitted that while “daddy away” is never the same as “daddy present,” he’ll do everything he can to make her happy with a victory, even if this year means celebrating from afar.