Polish tennis player Martyna Kubka's final US Open qualifying match against 16-year-old Kristina Liutova was postponed to Friday after severe weather caused major delays in New York.
The 182nd-ranked Pole was originally scheduled to play on Court 9 on Thursday afternoon local time. However, heavy rain disrupted the schedule, preventing play from resuming on Thursday, August 28.
Kubka reached the final qualifying round by defeating Annika Pecinkova, ranked 569th, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-2 in her opening match. She then secured a 6-3, 6-2 victory against 133rd-ranked Marina Bassols.
Heavy rain and court changes
The match between Kubka and Liutova, who is ranked 125th, was set to follow two other scheduled contests on Court 9. The order of play required Toby Samuel, ranked 110th in ATP, to face Cristian Garin, ranked 135th, before Susan Bandecchi, ranked 152nd, played Arantxa Rus, ranked 203rd.
As heavy rain fell across New York on Thursday afternoon, tournament organizers moved the match between Switzerland's Bandecchi and the Netherlands' Rus to Court 15. The change meant Kubka and Liutova only needed to wait for Samuel and Garin to finish their match on Court 9.
That match appeared close to ending when Britain's Samuel led 4-6, 6-4, 5-0. An approaching storm and heavy rain then caused a delay that lasted several hours, stopping further play on Court 9 for the day.
Revised Friday schedule
The decisive match between Kubka and Liutova was rescheduled for Friday at 5:00 p.m. Polish time. It will be the first and only match played on Court 9, as Garin retired from his match against Samuel due to an injury, which he explained in an Instagram statement.
The upcoming match represents a career milestone for Kubka, who has never previously played in either the qualifying rounds or the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
The US Open is the final Grand Slam event of the tennis season, held annually in New York. Players in the qualifying tournament must win three consecutive matches to secure a spot in the main draw.
