5 min learnAug 23, 2026 10:58 PM IST
So much has modified in males’s singles tennis since Carlos Alcaraz final competed.
The Spaniard, dethroned by Jannik Sinner from the highest spot in April 2026, has now dropped to world quantity three. The person who changed him at No. 2 — Alexander Zverev — has snapped a six-year dropping streak at Grand Slam finals. Zverev’s fellow French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli, in the meantime, has risen from 14th to sixth.
Cobolli has narrowly missed a top-four seeding on the upcoming US Open, and Novak Djokovic is the beneficiary as he gained’t must face Alcaraz or Zverev earlier than the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. With Sinner having withdrawn, the 39-year-old has a shot at avoiding the gruelling early-round five-setters which have repeatedly derailed his quest for a document twenty fifth Main title.
Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz are all coping with ‘physique blows’ in several methods. The Serbian is battling put on and tear from 22 years on the circuit. The Italian numero uno is reeling from a proper knee harm that has saved him away from Montreal, Cincinnati and now New York. Alcaraz is getting back from a four-month layoff, brought on by a situation clinically referred to as tenosynovitis. The fluid-filled protecting layer (synovial membrane) round his wrist’s tendon was infected in the course of the Barcelona Open, making joint movement arduous and painful. For somebody possessing among the finest forehands within the recreation, not having the ability to grip and swing the racket freely is presumably the worst nightmare and will take a number of match hours to beat.
A fit-again Alcaraz is beginning that journey with the US Open’s blended doubles showpiece. He has partnered Serena Williams, who’s on a outstanding comeback highway herself. The 39-time Grand Slam winner — 23 of them singles — has returned 4 years after “evolving away from tennis” publish the 2022 version of the American Main.
Williams has performed three doubles matches, the latest one with elder sister Venus, since June. Her solely singles look up to now has been at Wimbledon, the place she misplaced in straight units to Maya Joint within the first spherical and sustained a knee harm on prime of that. She is not going to be a part of the singles line-up in Queens, because the final remaining wildcard was handed to 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Star-studded blended doubles roster
The 44-year-old has fond recollections on the US Open blended doubles competitors. Earlier than claiming six singles titles at her dwelling Slam, Williams had bagged a blended doubles crown on the occasion again in 1998. She had teamed up with Max Mirnyi, who now coaches ladies’s singles No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
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Sabalenka can be a part of the star-studded blended doubles roster this 12 months. She has paired with Djokovic, whereas Iga Swiatek has joined Casper Ruud, Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz make an all-American duo and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina has partnered husband Gael Monfils. Will probably be Monfils’ final Main outing earlier than he walks into the sundown. Pegula and Fritz joined forces after their earlier companions, Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina, pulled out with accidents. Additional, Diana Shnaider can have an opportunity to discover a new accomplice after Daniil Medvedev withdrew.
Moreover the six direct entrants picked on the idea of mixed singles rankings, eight pairs have acquired wildcards, together with defending champions and doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. Two others will emerge from an eight-team qualifying spherical, which shall be performed on Monday.
Like in 2025, the two-day, 16-team contest is extra of an exhibition occasion than the intense one it was. Matches comprise best-of-three units as much as 4 video games, with a sudden-death deuce at 40-40 and a 10-points tiebreak as a substitute of a 3rd set. Within the closing, units shall be performed to 6 video games as a substitute of 4, with no-ad scoring and tie-breaks at six-all.
Taking part in blended doubles earlier than he begins his singles title defence may simply assist Alcaraz ease into his ever-attacking rhythm. The 23-year-old had circumspectly returned to coaching in July, and was snapped hitting balls fluently at a coaching session in Spain on August 4, BBC reported. However Alcaraz determined to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open the subsequent day, maybe indicating the vulnerability that comes with an harm as doubtlessly career-threatening as this.
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The wrist is an integral a part of Alcaraz’s gameplay anyway, with the great spin he imparts on his forehand groundstrokes standing testimony.
Whether or not he can revert to his free-flowing self who was the one actual challenger to Sinner’s dominance will solely be identified as soon as the singles most important draw will get underway on August 30. Till then, it’s time for the enjoyable and video games of blended doubles alongside a bonafide legend.
