Three victories got them into the US Open.
For most of the qualifiers, the fourth proved considerably harder.
Of the 16 women who fought their way through qualifying, five have already won again in the main draw, 10 have been eliminated, and Francesca Jones is still trying to become the sixth after taking the opening set against Magda Linette.
The survivors include Qinwen Zheng, Harriet Dart, Lucrezia Stefanini, Himeno Sakatsume and Polina Iatcenko.
Their rewards are hardly gentle.
Zheng gets Yulia Putintseva. Stefanini gets Jasmine Paolini. Iatcenko gets Aryna Sabalenka.
Qualifying earned them a place in the tournament.
Now New York starts charging interest.
Zheng Wins the Qualifier Battle and Gets Putintseva Next
The most unfortunate first-round pairing for the qualifying group guaranteed that one of its more intriguing stories would end immediately.
Qinwen Zheng and 16-year-old Kristina Liutova had both won three matches just to reach the main draw, only to be placed across the net from one another.
Liutova took the opening set 6-4.
Zheng responded 6-3 and then ran away with the decider 6-1, extending her US Open stay while ending Liutova’s first main-draw adventure.
There is no easing into Round 2.
Zheng now faces Yulia Putintseva, who has already produced one of the tournament’s notable upsets by beating No. 12 Belinda Bencic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
That gives Zheng a completely different kind of examination after surviving the teenage power of Liutova.
Dart and Stefanini Turn Qualifying Momentum Into Main-Draw Wins
Harriet Dart carried her qualifying run straight through another three-set match.
The Briton lost the opening set against Peyton Stearns but recovered to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Her second-round opponent is No. 25 seed Marie Bouzkova, who dismissed Elsa Jacquemot 6-2, 6-2.
Stefanini produced an even more eye-catching result.
The Italian qualifier defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, earning herself a meeting with No. 19 seed Jasmine Paolini.
That is an all-Italian second round that few would have predicted when qualifying began.
Sakatsume and Iatcenko Join Them
Himeno Sakatsume made one of the cleanest transitions from qualifying into the main draw.
The Japanese qualifier beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-3 and now faces Cristina Bucsa, who knocked out No. 28 seed Sara Bejlek in three sets.
Polina Iatcenko had to work considerably harder.
After losing the opening set to Renata Zarazua, she came back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-7).
Her reward could hardly be more dramatic.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is next.
Sabalenka opened with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Camila Osorio, so Iatcenko goes directly from qualifying into a second-round meeting with the top seed.
That is one way to discover how far your tennis has travelled in a week.
Ten Qualifiers Are Already Out
For the majority, the main draw lasted one match.
Storm Hunter ran into No. 11 seed Marta Kostyuk and lost 6-4, 6-1.
Elvina Kalieva pushed Lanlana Tararudee to three sets before falling 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2, while Anouk Koevermans was beaten 7-5, 6-1 by Caty McNally.
Gabriela Knutson lost 6-3, 6-3 to Eva Lys. Arantxa Rus fell 7-6(6), 6-2 to Leolia Jeanjean.
Lucie Havlickova was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Anna Bondar, and Tamara Zidansek went out 6-3, 7-5 against Maria Timofeeva.
Robin Montgomery came particularly close to adding another American qualifier to Round 2. She took the opening set 6-2 against No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari before losing the next two 7-5, 6-2.
Mary Stoiana’s first Grand Slam main draw ended against Alexandra Eala, 6-1, 6-2.
And Liutova’s run ended against the one player she surely would have preferred not to meet so early: fellow qualifier Zheng.
Jones Can Still Make It Six
One qualifier remains unfinished.
Francesca Jones took the opening set 6-4 against Magda Linette, meaning the British contingent could still add another survivor.
If Jones finishes the job, she will meet the winner of Iva Jovic and Magdalena Frech in Round 2.
That would take the qualifying group to six second-round players from the original 16.
For now, the count stands at:
Five through. Ten out. One still playing.
The Survivors Now Get the Real Draw
That may be the most revealing part of this first round.
Qualifying can create its own momentum. Players win three matches, become accustomed to the courts and arrive in the main draw already battle-tested.
Then the names on the other side of the net change.
- Iatcenko gets Sabalenka.
- Stefanini gets Paolini.
- Zheng gets a Putintseva who has just removed Bencic.
- Dart gets Bouzkova.
- Sakatsume gets Bucsa.
The reward for surviving qualifying was never an easier US Open.
It was the right to find out how much further they can go.
Five already have their answer postponed for another round.
Jones is still trying to join them.