NEW YORK — Taylor Townsend is headed to the second week of the US Open for the third time in her career, and she had to dig deep to get there. The 30-year-old American knocked out No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the third round Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, notching her first victory over a Top-20 opponent in 2026 in the process.
Ranked No. 96 and unseeded, Townsend came into the match with a reputation for raising her level in New York and a nagging stat hanging over her head: she was 0-2 in third-round matches this season. Standing across the net was a formidable obstacle. Shnaider, the World No. 16, reached the French Open semifinals in June and hits as flat and heavy as anyone on tour, and she had cruised into this meeting having dropped just 11 games in two matches. Rarely do you see two lefties square off at this stage of a major, and the contrast in styles — Shnaider’s power baseline game against Townsend’s vintage all-court attack — made for a fascinating chess match. The moment looked ripe for another early American exit. Instead, Townsend leaned into the serve-and-volley game that has made her a fan favorite at Flushing Meadows and refused to let the match slip away.
Clutch When It Mattered
The numbers tell the story of a player who was brilliant under pressure. Townsend saved 10 of the 12 break points she faced, an 83 percent clip, and held 13 of her 15 service games against a returner as dangerous as anyone in the women’s draw. She cracked five aces, won 70 percent of her first-serve points and, on return, converted five of her eight chances, repeatedly stepping in on Shnaider’s second serve and finishing points at the net with the kind of touch she has built her game around.
The first set was a statement. Townsend broke early, kept Shnaider off balance with slices and chip charges, and closed it out 6-2 in clinical fashion. Shnaider, a fellow lefty who had dropped only 11 games in her first two matches, answered in the second set, cranking her flat groundstrokes and dragging Townsend into a tiebreaker. The Russian won it 7-3 to level the match, and suddenly the American’s 0-2 record in third rounds this year flashed to the front of everyone’s mind.
Townsend never blinked. She steadied her first serve, kept attacking the net behind her best deliveries, and broke Shnaider early in the deciding set. From there she served with authority, saving more break points down the stretch before sealing the match 6-3 and letting the New York crowd shower her with the love she has earned over a decade of memorable runs in Queens.
More Than a Tennis Player in New York
Townsend has never been just a tennis player at this tournament, and this fortnight has been no exception. She hosted a pop-up shop for her own clothing line in the city last weekend, and her on-court outfits have become appointment viewing. Wednesday’s second-round kit was inspired by the tournament’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Day, and her interviews have crackled with the joy of a player who is finally styling her career on her own terms.
“I’m just feeling it,” Townsend said after dismantling Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-1 in 48 minutes on Wednesday, a match in which she won 100 percent of her first-serve points.
The Flushing Meadows magic is nothing new. Townsend made her US Open debut in 2014, but her true breakout came in 2019, when she stunned Simona Halep on Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning a third-set tiebreaker with a fearless display of net play. Last year she upset No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva and took Barbora Krejcikova to match point before falling just short. She has beaten the odds here so often that Friday’s upset felt less like a surprise and more like a return to form.
Doubles Dominance and a Wide-Open Path
Even as she advances in singles, Townsend remains the No. 1 doubles seed alongside Katerina Siniakova. She is already a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion — remarkably, the US Open is the only major she has not won in doubles — and her all-court instincts make her a nightmare matchup in both draws. Between her singles momentum and her doubles pedigree, she is playing the most complete tennis of her career at 30.
The road ahead is demanding but far from closed. Townsend had dropped only seven games across her first two matches before Shnaider pushed her to the limit, and her 4-1 record against lefties this season proved prophetic against the No. 15 seed. She will return to the court this weekend for the fourth round, one win away from matching the deepest singles runs of her career.
Whatever happens next, Friday belonged to Townsend — proof that variety, touch and a New York crowd can still topple heavy artillery on the game’s biggest hard courts.
Tyler Harlan
Tyler Harlan covers sports with an eye for rotations, trends, scheduling spots, and the game context that often gets overlooked.