Ogunsakin, a product of Aurum Tennis Academy, fought for three sets before eventually going down 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to the South African
Nigeria’s teenage tennis prospect Oluwaseun Ogunsakin has been eliminated from the 2026 US Open Junior Championships after losing to South Africa’s Connor Doig in the round of 32 on Tuesday.
The defeat ends an encouraging campaign for the 17-year-old, who reached the main draw after an impressive qualifying run and then secured the biggest victory of his Grand Slam career in the opening round.
Ogunsakin defeated Chinese Taipei’s Kuan-Shou Chen, the No. 15 seed and world No. 16 junior, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to record his first-ever main-draw victory at a Grand Slam tournament.
Against Doig, however, the Nigerian struggled to find his rhythm early in the contest as the South African claimed the opening set 6-2.
Ogunsakin responded strongly in the second set, raising his level to force the match into a decider with a 6-4 victory.
The South African, though, regained control in the final set, winning 6-3 to secure his place in the next round.
Despite the loss, Ogunsakin’s performance in New York represents another significant step in his rapid development on the international junior circuit.
The US Open is his third consecutive Grand Slam junior tournament. He began his Grand Slam journey at the Roland Garros Junior Championships before featuring at Wimbledon, where he reached the boys’ singles main draw and advanced to the doubles semi-finals.
Ogunsakin, who had also featured in the boys’ doubles competition alongside Botswana’s Ntungamili Raguin, couldn’t progress at Flushing Meadows.
While the early exit in singles will be disappointing, Ogunsakin’s general progress across three Grand Slam tournaments underlines his growing potential as one of Nigeria’s promising young tennis players.
