Paris 2024 Olympian N Sriram Balaji’s second-round defeat in the US Open 2026 tennis men’s doubles brought India’s campaign at the season’s final Grand Slam to an end in New York on Sunday.
World No. 54 Balaji and his American partner Evan King, ranked 53rd, lost to 12th seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 28 minutes.
Balaji and King were broken in the eighth game and could not recover the break as the 12th seeds closed out the opening set 6-4.
The second set was considerably tighter, with the decisive breakthrough coming in the 11th game when the 12th seeds broke Balaji and King to move 6-5 ahead. Nys and Roger-Vasselin then served out the match to seal their place in the next round.
Balaji and King had produced a remarkable comeback in the first round, saving six match points before beating Dutch pair Sander Arends and David Pel 3-6, 7(9)-6(7), 7(12)-6(10) in two hours and 56 minutes.
The second-round appearance matched Balaji’s best result at the US Open. He had also reached the same stage in 2024 with Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi.
Balaji was the last remaining Indian tennis player in the senior draw after Yuki Bhambri, Anirudh Chandrasekar and Niki Poonacha exited the men’s doubles in the opening round.
India had no representation in the singles main draws or in mixed doubles at the US Open 2026.
