Alexander Zverev has pushed back against being described as the main title favourite for the US Open, even as the draw opens up around him and Carlos Alcaraz prepares to return after a long spell away.

The German arrives in New York with a very different standing from a year ago. Since then, he has captured his first Grand Slam crown at the French Open and reached his maiden Wimbledon final in July. Those results have naturally sharpened the focus on his prospects at Flushing Meadows, especially after world No 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew because of lingering knee problems following his Wimbledon triumph.

Alcaraz, now ranked behind Zverev, has also been absent for four months because of a wrist injury, but the Spaniard is set to rejoin the tour in New York. Zverev, however, is not reading too much into the circumstances surrounding his rivals. He also admitted his own build-up has not been ideal, after losing early at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

Even so, his US Open record remains strong. He has reached at least the quarter-finals in four of his last five appearances, and he made the final in 2020 before losing a five-set classic to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets and a break.

“I still feel that I should have won in 2020; that hasn’t changed. Overall, of course, there is a certain level of satisfaction from finally winning a Grand Slam,” he analysed during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I think I’ve said it a million times. But you also realise something: once you win one, you want to win more. You want to keep moving forward, and you want to play your best tennis every time you step onto a court.

“I feel that I did that after Roland Garros, and then I didn’t do it in the last two tournaments.

“But I definitely feel that my game is coming back, and it’s been improving with every training session. I hope to show my best tennis here again.”

Zverev also rejected the idea that he should be treated as the clear favourite, saying the decisive name is the one left standing near the end of the event.

“I think being a seed is nice and shows that you have been playing well, but I think the most important thing is whose name appears at the end of the draw and who is still here in two weeks,” he added.

“I believe that’s the main objective for everyone in the draw. I feel like I’m just one of the 128 favourite players in the draw, nothing more.”

Asked about Alcaraz’s wrist issue, Zverev said the injuries are not comparable and suggested the Spaniard could need only a match or two to settle before becoming dangerous again.

“I know what you mean, but it’s very different because I think it’s a different injury,” Zverev stated.

“The wrist is never easy, that’s for sure.

“I know this because my brother also had a wrist injury, and it takes time to come back from something like that. I think mine was different because I tore seven ligaments and fractured two bones, so I had to undergo surgery.

“It took me a year to come back, so it was a bit different. I feel that he’s probably at the same physical level now, if not better, because surely over the last four or five months he has done a lot of physical work – something I couldn’t do because I couldn’t walk.

“I think he’ll be a bit rusty during the first or second match, but once he gets past that, I think he will be a title contender, for sure.”

Zverev begins his US Open campaign against Lorenzo Sonego.

Craig Tiley has stepped into his new position as CEO of the United States Tennis Association, but he is still looking back at the Australian Open with ideas for change.

Tiley ended his long spell at Tennis Australia last week before beginning work with the USTA. The South African had served as Tennis Australia’s chief executive since 2013, after taking on the Australian Open tournament director role in 2006. He first joined Tennis Australia in 2005 as director of player development.

On his first day in the USTA job, Tiley said: “The USTA has created a great platform to inspire further growth in tennis participation.

“We want to work with everyone within the tennis family to grow the sport beyond what anyone thought possible.”

While his attention now turns toward the 2026 US Open, Tiley has also argued that the season’s opening Grand Slam in Melbourne still offers “plenty of opportunity” for development.

Speaking on the Australian Open’s The Sit-Down podcast, he outlined the kind of start he would prefer for the event: “If I had my choice for the Australian Open, I would be starting with a blockbuster night on Saturday night, maybe the former champions opening up.

“Then I’d be going into a full day on Sunday and then giving the players enough rest because it’s three out of five sets. I’d have the women playing three out of five sets from the quarters onwards.

“Every day would be a festival, a minimum of 100,000 people a day for 21 straight days. All the other channels we have, like in music and food, really elevate those and lift those up.

“It rivals with the four weeks of Olympics once every four years pretty easily, so there’s plenty of opportunity.”

This is not the first time Tiley has publicly raised the idea of best-of-five sets for women’s Grand Slam matches. During the 2026 Australian Open, he told AAP: “It’s something we should put on the agenda and start talking to the players about it because there’s some matches in those last rounds which would have been fascinating had they been three out of five sets.

“Now I don’t know whether the players would want to do it or not, but it is something we need to consider on the women’s side.”

Several leading players have already made their preference clear. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova all said in February that they would rather keep the current best-of-three format.

At the Qatar Open, Swiatek said: “I think with the world right now that is kind of, like, speeding up, I don’t really think it makes sense for us to play such long matches. Especially when I think it would be tough to keep the quality up throughout the whole match.”

Gauff added: “I like the way two-out-of-three is. I think best-of-five wouldn’t be terrible, but I don’t know. I feel indifferent towards the question, honestly.

“I like the way it is right now. Two-out-of-three feels right. I can be home at a good time. I feel like best-of-five we’re going to be out there until 5:00 a.m. like every day.”

Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, has supported the change, saying in March: “Let’s do that. Yeah, let’s do that. I feel like I would have probably more Grand Slams.

“I feel like physically I’m really strong, and I’m pretty confident that my body can handle that. So let’s do it.”

Carson Branstine has used social media to lay out a blunt critique of life for many professional players, even while sidelined by injury. The 25-year-old Canadian filmed a TikTok titled “POV: you play professional tennis” that sketches the realities faced by lower-ranked competitors.

Branstine, whose career-high ranking is No. 172, frames the clip as a series of mock conversations with tennis officials that expose costs and compromises beneath the tour’s surface. In the video she quips, “Merry Christmas! Your flight’s today. That’s your Christmas present,” and then adds, “But, like, you have to pay for it.” She follows with another exchange: “You can’t afford a coach?” and “That really sucks… I can’t help you.”

The most forceful section addresses perceived inconsistencies in anti-doping outcomes. “I mean, yeah she failed a drug test, but she’s No. 1 in the world,” Branstine says. “We need her to play…

“But, like, the other girl who is ranked No. 300 who (ate) contaminated meat? We’re just going to ban her for four years. We don’t need her.” She captioned the post, “the fact I’m not exaggerating is diabolical.” Branstine later clarified in the comments: “not referring to any specific players… it’s an example that has happened many times with different players.”

The video’s examples echo public outcomes that drew scrutiny: Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in late 2024 after low levels of trimetazidine were traced to a contaminated supplement, while Tara Moore received a four-year ban in 2025 after a positive test she has argued came from contaminated meat.

Branstine’s post also highlights the financial and medical precarity players can face. She recounts the consequences of injury: “So sorry about your injury! You’re not going to make a single dollar for eight months,” and notes the difficulty of obtaining support: “You must be crazy for thinking we would cover your medical bills from the tournament we hosted you at!

“Yeah, we have insurance, but it’s the most expensive insurance ever, of course.”

Branstine broke through in 2025 while funding her career partly through modeling, is enrolled at Texas A&M and qualified for the Wimbledon main draw in 2025. She opened the 2026 season in Australia, winning a first-round qualifying match at the Australian Open before retiring injured against Daria Snigur with a shoulder issue and has not returned to competition since.