The US Open first round wraps up on Tuesday. It has been a tournament full of twists and turns so far, and it should be another great day of action.
Here are my best bets for Tuesday of the first round of the 2026 US Open.
2026 US Open First Round Best Bets
Parlay: Rafael Jodar -1.5 Sets vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis & Jan-Lennard Struff ML vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli (-122)
Rafael Jodar has had a remarkable rookie season. A year ago this time, Jodar was still a member of the tennis team at the University of Virginia. In 2026, he has become one of the best players in the world. He made the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and has been on a tear at Masters 1000 events. He has made at least the fourth round in each of the past four Masters 1000 events, including a trip to the semifinals in Canada.
Jodar is now looking to make a run at the US Open, starting with his first-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis. Jodar should handle business against Kokkinakis in three or four sets. Kokkinakis has never been a very competitive player in singles. He has never made it past the second round at the US Open before, and won’t even make it out of the first round in 2026. Jodar should win comfortably here and cover the spread of -1.5 sets.
Jan-Lennard Struff is coming off the best major run of his career. At 36 years old, Struff made his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Struff was excellent at last year’s US Open as well, beating Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe en route to the fourth round, where he fell to Novak Djokovic.
Struff should rise to the occasion on the big stage again in this match against Camilo Ugo Carabelli. Carabelli has only won two Grand Slam matches in his career, both of which came at Roland-Garros. In preparation for the US Open, Carabelli competed in Canada and Cincinnati, where he got knocked out in the first round of both tournaments. Struff should beat him on Tuesday in New York.
Alexandra Eala to win 2:0 vs. Mary Stoiana (-150)
Alexandra Eala has been one of the breakout stars in the tennis world this year. The 21-year-old has risen to No. 18 in the WTA rankings and is capable of climbing even higher. Eala had a career-best major run at Wimbledon, making it to the fourth round. Eala also won her first career WTA title in July at the Washington Open. She should have a big supporter base in New York for this match at Louis Armstrong Stadium and take care of Mary Stoiana in short order.
Mary Stoiana is the No. 122 player in the world and has never won a singles match at a Grand Slam before. She is not only outmatched by Eala talent-wise, but Stoiana is one of the rare players who are even less experienced than Eala. These two faced off once before in 2024, when Eala beat Stoiana in two sets. Eala should do the same again in the US Open.
