Former champion Andy Roddick says the reaction to this year’s US Open ticket prices has been misdirected, arguing that the loudest criticism is missing how the market works.

Attention around the men’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium intensified after the top ticket price passed $20,000. The resale market has since driven that figure even higher, with listings reaching $34,944.18. That eye-catching number has prompted fresh debate about affordability, but Roddick insisted the USTA is not the party benefiting from those prices.

“Smart people are getting on an opinion that benefits themselves, right?” said Roddick on his podcast.

“They do this without mentioning secondary marketing and how the pricing actually works once it’s out of the USTA’s hands—which you have to go through.

“So listen, just have a nuanced argument. Is it overpriced? Is it too expensive? Hell yes, completely agree on that. Absolutely, we’re not arguing that it’s not. This sucks.

“But to say the USTA are charging these prices is categorically false. The issue here is the ticket resale market.”

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski also addressed the surge, describing resale prices as “crazy” and questioning how many fans could realistically absorb the cost of attending with another ticket added on top.

“You gotta buy two tickets and bring a date for you, so it will be an expensive night if you are buying on the resale market,” said Rusedski on his podcast.

“It’s crazy what some people will pay for tickets, but I guess it’s supply and demand. And you know, you are in New York City, which is one of the most expensive cities on the planet at the moment, especially with inflation.

“So there are some wealthy individuals who can manage to do those things, but I’m quite shocked by those prices. I’m glad I don’t have to pay for tickets when I go to the US Open.

“There’s got to be some balance for the fans and prices of tickets. If you’re charging that much money for people, and you know, people’s wages haven’t gone up at that rate. So they still have to make it affordable so you can have your regular fan get in there and not put themselves in debt or put themselves in these situations. And that’s where you gotta find the balance.

The USTA is not collecting those inflated resale sums, with secondary sellers and companies like Ticketmaster benefiting instead from tickets initially bought at face value.

Aryna Sabalenka has held onto the No 1 position in the WTA Rankings, but the latest update has tightened the race behind her after major moves from Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Alex Eala, while Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini both slipped.

Sabalenka has been under sustained pressure since the French Open, with Elena Rybakina close enough to challenge since June. That threat remained alive in Cincinnati, where Sabalenka’s fourth-round exit meant a place in the final would have protected her No 1 ranking. Instead, the two-time Grand Slam winner reached the quarter-final before a leg injury forced her to retire against Swiatek.

As a result, Sabalenka will still lead the field into the US Open, though her cushion is down to 434 points. Rybakina still has a major opportunity ahead in New York, where the four-time Grand Slam winner is the defending champion and will drop 2,000 points.

The pressure on Rybakina has grown as well. Pegula sits 876 points behind in third after finishing runner-up in Cincinnati, while Gauff is another 561 points back after lifting the title in Ohio.

Further down the list, Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova climbs two places to a career-high No 6. Swiatek is the biggest faller inside the top 10, dropping three places to No 8 after defending points from Cincinnati but losing in the semi-final to Pegula.

There were also positive moves for Iva Jovic, Sorana Cirstea and Alex Eala, with Jovic and Eala both reaching career-best rankings. Paolini, unable to compete this year because of injury after finishing runner-up to Swiatek in 2025, falls five spots to No 20.

Sara Bejlek was one of the standout performers in Cincinnati, beating Sabalenka in the fourth round and Madison Keys in the quarter-final before losing to Gauff. The Czech youngster rises six places to a new high of No 29.

Elsewhere in the top 100, several players recorded new highs, while Katie Boulter’s rise and Emma Raducanu’s drop have left Boulter as British No 1.

Jannik Sinner’s decision to pull out of the US Open has been called a shock by former British player and commentator Annabel Croft, who said his scheduling may have “cost him” two Grand Slams this season.

Five weeks ago, the world No 1 finished his Wimbledon campaign in outstanding form and carried a 44-3 record for the season, a return that underlined how dominant he had been. But concern had already started to build after he withdrew from the Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati.

With less than two weeks left before the US Open began, Sinner announced on social media that he would not be able to compete because of an ongoing “right knee issue”. The withdrawal followed another difficult major moment earlier in the year. After becoming the first man to win all five of the season’s opening Masters 1000 events, he also entered the French Open as the clear favourite, only to be physically weakened by the intense Paris heat in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Croft, a former top-25 player who has spent years working as a commentator, offered a blunt assessment of the situation.

“It’s quite a shock to be honest. We knew he hadn’t played the last couple of events and he was resting but that whole idea was to get ready for the US Open,” stated the Brit during a Sky Sports segment.

“It’s a big blow to tennis because it feels like a long time ago that we had Alcaraz and Sinner in the events together and it feels like a great loss.

“It also underlines how relentless and demanding the tour is physically.

“When you think at the beginning of the year when he won those five back-to-back Masters 1000 titles which was absolutely exceptional and a phenomenal achievement, but when he got to Roland-Garros there was not much left in the tank and it cost him perhaps the French Open title..

“Then we saw him rebound at Wimbledon which he built with each match but once again his body has let himself down.

“For all of these players it’s such a difficult balance. You keep trying to play the tour, play the mandatory events but you also want to peak at the Grand Slams and it’s not quite happening at the moment.”

The withdrawal came one day after Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his own return to the tour following a four-month break for the US Open. The Spaniard has been sidelined by a wrist injury since leaving the Barcelona Open, though recent practice sessions have offered encouragement. Sinner and Alcaraz met six times in 2025, but their only meeting this year came in the final of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where Sinner won in straight sets.

“It’s a long time since we had them in the same draw [since Monte Carlo],” the Brit continued.

“They have become the new rivalry that everyone wants to see. I really don’t mind watching the same players compete all the time because those are the matches you really look forward to.

“It’s like watching a big boxing fight. You want to see the very best go up against each other, but now it’s an opportunity for the next category down to shine.

“It’s interesting because it’s a bit of a transitional period at the moment.

“Who knows what will happen when we get them all back together.”