Eva Lys has opened her 2026 U.S. Open campaign with a straight-sets victory, giving the rising German tennis player another opportunity to make her mark on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Lys defeated Czech qualifier Gabriela Knutson 6-3, 6-3 in their first-round women’s singles match in New York on Tuesday, September 1.
The victory sends Lys into the second round and continues what has been an important period in the 24-year-old’s career.
For casual tennis fans, Lys may still be an unfamiliar name compared with the biggest stars on the WTA Tour. But her rise has been building for several years, helped by Grand Slam breakthroughs, victories over established opponents and a memorable Australian Open run that transformed her from a lucky loser into one of the tournament’s biggest stories.
Her background is equally compelling.
Lys was born in Ukraine, represents Germany internationally and comes from a family deeply connected to professional sport.
Now, with another Grand Slam victory secured at the U.S. Open, attention is once again turning toward a player who has steadily established herself at the highest level of women’s tennis.
Eva Lys Beats Gabriela Knutson at the U.S. Open
Lys entered Tuesday’s match as the favorite against Knutson, who had worked her way through qualifying to reach the main draw.
The German controlled the contest in straight sets.
She took the opening set 6-3 before producing the same score in the second, completing a 6-3, 6-3 victory and avoiding the type of early-round battle that can quickly complicate a Grand Slam campaign.
For Lys, advancing efficiently is important.
Grand Slam tournaments require players to win seven matches to capture a singles title, meaning conserving energy during the opening rounds can become increasingly valuable as a tournament progresses.
The victory also provided another significant result for a player whose Grand Slam career has changed dramatically since the beginning of 2025.
Who Is Eva Lys?
Eva Lys is a German professional tennis player who was born on January 12, 2002, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
She is 24 years old.
Although born in Ukraine, Lys moved to Germany as a young child and grew up in Hamburg.
She represents Germany professionally.
Lys plays right-handed and uses a two-handed backhand.
Her emergence on the professional circuit has made her part of a newer generation of German women’s players following an era highlighted by stars such as Angelique Kerber.
However, tennis was already deeply embedded in Lys’ family long before she began competing on the WTA Tour.
Her father, Vladimir Lys, has worked as a tennis coach.
Her older sister, Lisa Matviyenko, also played professional tennis.
That environment introduced Eva to the sport at an early age and helped establish the foundation for what eventually became a professional career.
Eva Lys Was Born in Ukraine and Raised in Germany
Lys’ Ukrainian heritage has remained an important part of her identity.
She was born in Kyiv before moving to Germany with her family when she was young.
She subsequently grew up in Hamburg and developed her tennis career there.
Her family has maintained connections to Ukraine.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lys spoke publicly about the emotional impact of the war on her family and people she knew in the country.
Her background has therefore made her story more complex than a simple nationality label beside her name on a tennis scoreboard.
She represents Germany, the country where she was raised and developed as a player, while retaining strong personal connections to the country where she was born.
Tennis Runs in the Lys Family
Eva Lys did not discover tennis by accident.
Her father played an important role in her early development.
Vladimir Lys has worked professionally as a tennis coach and has been involved in his daughter’s career.
Eva’s older sister, Lisa Matviyenko, also pursued professional tennis and competed on the ITF circuit.
Growing up around players and coaches gave Lys an early understanding of the demands of competitive tennis.
She began playing at a young age and later trained in Hamburg, gradually progressing through junior competition before attempting the difficult transition into professional tournaments.
That path can take years.
Players often begin at lower-level ITF events, collecting ranking points while attempting to qualify for larger tournaments.
Lys followed that process before her career began accelerating.
Her Professional Breakthrough Started on the ITF Circuit
Before regularly appearing in major WTA tournaments, Lys built experience on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour.
Those events serve as an important development level beneath the main WTA circuit.
She won multiple ITF singles titles and gradually improved her ranking.
Her performances eventually earned opportunities at bigger events.
One particularly important breakthrough came at the 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Lys qualified for the tournament and defeated Viktorija Golubic to earn her first WTA Tour main-draw victory.
She continued progressing over the following seasons.
By 2023 and 2024, Lys was increasingly appearing in WTA events and Grand Slam qualifying draws rather than being confined to lower-level tournaments.
But the moment that dramatically increased her international profile came in Melbourne.
Australian Open Run Changed Eva Lys’ Career
Eva Lys became one of the unexpected stories of the 2025 Australian Open.
Initially, she did not even qualify for the main draw.
Lys lost in the final round of qualifying and appeared to be heading out of the tournament.
Then circumstances changed.
A late withdrawal opened a place in the draw, and Lys entered as a lucky loser, the term used for a player who loses in qualifying but receives a main-draw spot after another competitor withdraws.
She had very little time to prepare.
What happened next became one of the most memorable runs of the tournament.
Lys defeated Kimberly Birrell in the first round.
She then beat Varvara Gracheva.
Another victory over Jaqueline Cristian sent her into the fourth round.
Suddenly, a player who had not qualified for the tournament was among the final 16 women remaining in the draw.
Lys became the first women’s singles lucky loser in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open fourth round.
Her run eventually ended against Iga Swiatek.
But by that stage, the result had already transformed her tournament and accelerated her ranking.
From Lucky Loser to Established WTA Player
The Australian Open breakthrough was valuable for reasons beyond publicity.
Deep Grand Slam runs bring substantial ranking points.
For players attempting to establish themselves on the WTA Tour, those points can change an entire season.
A higher ranking can provide direct entry into tournaments that previously required qualifying.
That means fewer matches simply to reach the main draw and more opportunities to face elite opposition.
Lys used her Melbourne success as part of a broader rise through the rankings.
Rather than remaining known solely as the lucky loser who produced one surprising tournament, she continued competing against high-level opponents and building a more stable position on tour.
That progression is what makes her 2026 U.S. Open appearance particularly interesting.
She is no longer arriving as an unknown player hoping to sneak into a Grand Slam draw.
Expectations have changed.
Eva Lys Has Faced Health Challenges During Her Career
Lys’ rise has also come while managing a chronic health condition.
She revealed publicly in 2024 that she had been diagnosed with spondyloarthritis, an inflammatory rheumatic disease.
The condition can cause symptoms including back pain and stiffness and can affect training and competition.
For a professional tennis player, whose career depends on repeated high-intensity movement, travel and physical recovery, managing such a condition creates an additional challenge.
Lys explained that the diagnosis helped her better understand physical issues she had experienced.
She has continued competing professionally while managing the condition with medical support.
Her ability to continue climbing the rankings despite that challenge became another important part of her story.
It also added context to her Australian Open breakthrough.
Eva Lys Has Become an Important Name in German Tennis
Germany has a substantial history in women’s tennis.
Steffi Graf remains one of the greatest players in the sport’s history, while Angelique Kerber won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached world No. 1.
Following Kerber’s retirement, attention naturally shifted toward the next generation.
Lys has increasingly become part of that conversation.
She has represented Germany in international team competition and continued establishing herself on the WTA Tour.
Her rise does not mean she is automatically destined to reproduce the achievements of Germany’s former Grand Slam champions.
Those are exceptionally high standards.
But consistent appearances at major tournaments and movement through the rankings have made Lys one of the country’s most recognizable active women’s players.
Why Eva Lys Is Trending During the U.S. Open
The immediate reason for renewed interest in Lys is straightforward.
She is competing at the U.S. Open and has advanced through her opening match.
Major tournaments create significantly greater search interest around players who may receive less attention during ordinary WTA events.
That is particularly true when a player has an unusual background or a previous Grand Slam story attached to their name.
Lys has both.
Her Ukrainian birth and German upbringing generate biographical interest.
Her tennis family provides another layer.
Her spondyloarthritis diagnosis has attracted attention because of the physical demands of professional tennis.
And her extraordinary lucky-loser run at the Australian Open established a Grand Slam storyline that fans remember.
Tuesday’s victory gives her another opportunity to build on that profile.
What Comes Next for Eva Lys?
Lys’ victory over Gabriela Knutson guarantees her a place in the second round of the 2026 U.S. Open.
The difficulty will increase from here.
Grand Slam draws rarely provide an easy route, and every additional round brings players who have already survived their own opening matches.
For Lys, however, the immediate objective has been accomplished.
She avoided an early upset.
She won in straight sets.
And she moves forward without having been dragged into a long three-set opening-round battle.
How far she goes from here will determine whether the 2026 U.S. Open becomes another major chapter in her career or simply another step in a season of continued development.
Her experience in Melbourne has already demonstrated how quickly a Grand Slam tournament can change a player’s trajectory.
Eva Lys Is No Longer Just the Australian Open Lucky Loser
For a period, the phrase most closely associated with Eva Lys was inevitably “lucky loser.”
It was understandable.
Entering a Grand Slam main draw after losing in qualifying and then reaching the fourth round was extraordinary.
But continuing to define her exclusively through that tournament increasingly misses the larger picture.
Lys has spent years developing through professional tennis.
She has won titles below the WTA level.
She has competed against some of the best players in the world.
She has climbed the rankings while managing a chronic health condition.
She has represented Germany internationally.
And she has continued appearing on Grand Slam stages.
Her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Gabriela Knutson in New York is not as dramatic as the circumstances that launched her 2025 Australian Open run.
It does not need to be.
For a player attempting to establish herself permanently near the top levels of professional tennis, routine Grand Slam victories can be every bit as important as unexpected breakthroughs.
Eva Lys is now through to the second round.
What happens next will determine whether New York becomes the site of another memorable run.
Disclaimer
This article is based on the official result of Eva Lys’ September 1, 2026 U.S. Open first-round match and publicly available professional and biographical information. Tennis rankings, tournament results and subsequent opponents may change as the competition progresses.
Information concerning Lys’ health is based on her previous public disclosure concerning spondyloarthritis and is included only as relevant background to her professional career. This article does not provide medical advice or speculate about her current health status.