Carlos Alcaraz is preparing to move his recovery forward after the wrist injury that has kept him out since April, and Greg Rusedski believes a clear timetable is now coming into view for the Spaniard.

Alcaraz has already missed the French Open and Wimbledon after suffering the problem at the Barcelona Open. A recent social media post suggested he is still some way from full-speed tennis, with the 23-year-old seen striking the ball softly in what appeared to be an early stage of his return.

More uncertainty followed when Alcaraz appeared at the World Cup final in New Jersey, where a wrist support remained visible as he watched Spain beat Argentina.

Rusedski has now offered his view on whether Alcaraz can be ready for the US Open next month. In his assessment, the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati looks like the crucial test before the final Grand Slam of the year.

“To have any chance to play at the US Open, he’s gotta play Cincinnati,” he declared on the edition of his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast that will be released on Monday.

He added: “If he plays Cincinnati and the wrist holds up, that is exciting news for our sport, because we definitely need him back.

“If he doesn’t play Cincinnati, we know the US Open isn’t gonna happen and he’s been away from the game for very, very long time.

“He’s got to be smart with it because the fact he’s got to get his volume up to a certain level and you don’t want to rush it back too much.

“The 12-day event in Cincinnati might actually help him because the fact that he can have a few more breaks in between matches, but this is still a huge question marks.

“It’s not like you’re playing a two-out-of-three major. So for the women’s, it’s a little bit easier because when you go into the majors, it’s like a regular week with a guaranteed day off every week is two out of three sets. To make the jump up to three out of five sets is tough for the men.

“From what I saw from that original video, I wasn’t thinking would play at the US Open, but we need him back in our sport and we’ll find out. Cincinnati, fingers crossed he’s back because we miss Carlos. I really hope he’s back in Cincinnati and healthy.”

Rusedski also felt the wrist support made sense when Alcaraz took part in the World Cup final role. He noted that bringing the trophy onto the pitch before kick-off would have meant repeated handshakes and a risk to the injury.

“You gotta shake people’s hands a lot when you take on a tole like that at the World Cup,” he added. “If you have one person all of a sudden give you a big handshake, you’re gonna put that injury back in there. So I think it was clever that he had the tape on the World Cup.”

Venus Williams and Alexandra Eala were expected to reunite in doubles at the Washington Open, but the partnership was changed only days before the tournament began.

The two had already shown they could work well together earlier in the year at Bad Homburg. On that occasion, they advanced to the quarter finals before losing to Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls, a run that suggested the pairing had real potential.

Their entry for Washington was initially confirmed, but the plans were later revised. Williams will now partner Diana Shnaider, while Eala will not take part in the event. Williams addressed the switch at her pre-tournament press conference and made clear that the timing was frustrating, even if the door is not closed on a future reunion.

Speaking at her pre-tournament press conference, Williams said: “We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg so we were looking forward to playing again.

“[It] didn’t work out this time,” the multi-time Grand Slam champion added. “Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens.”

Both players have spent much of the year exploring different doubles combinations with other WTA Tour names. Eala has teamed with Janice Tjen, Iva Jovic, and Nikola Bartunkova, while Williams has played alongside Elina Svitolina, Katie Boulter, and Leylah Fernandez.

The two will still be in the singles draw in Washington, and both face difficult opening assignments. Eala opens against Olympic Gold Medalist and former Grand Slam finalist Qinwen Zheng, who is in the main draw on a wildcard. Zheng has dealt with several injuries over the past year and sits outside the top 100, but she is still viewed as a far more testing opponent than her ranking suggests.

Williams is scheduled to face Anastasia Potapova, another wildcard entrant. Potapova has produced strong results this season, especially during the European clay court swing, reaching the final in Linz, the semi finals in Madrid, and the round of 16 at both the Italian Open and Roland Garros.

Hard courts may present a different challenge, but Potapova will still be a stern first-round test for Williams, who has not won a singles match this year. Her last singles victory came exactly a year ago at the 2025 Washington Open, when she beat Peyton Stearns before falling to Magdalena Frech in the next round.

Questions around medication use in tennis have returned to the fore, with renewed attention on two separate issues: ADHD drugs and weight loss drugs.

Fernando Verdasco, a former top-10 player, accepted a voluntary provisional doping suspension of two months in 2022 after testing positive for an ADHD medication, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Wednesday. Verdasco said he was taking methylphenidate, prescribed by his doctor to treat ADHD, but had forgotten to renew his therapeutic use exemption for the drug. The integrity agency added that he has now been granted an exemption by the World Anti-Doping Agency moving forward.

That case has fed wider speculation within the sport about how often ADHD medication is being used under therapeutic use exemptions. Such drugs can “enhance your ability to focus, plan, and regulate impulses while reducing hyperactivity”, which has led to debate over whether some players may be using them despite not needing them medically.

The issue was raised with Karren Moorhouse, the ITIA chief executive, during an appearance on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.

“I think there’s this kind of view within the sport that lots and lots of players are on ADHD medication. That’s absolutely not the case,” declared Moorhouse.

She explained that the approval process is tightly controlled, saying that ADHD cases require confirmation from two experts and that the ITIA’s TUE committee reviews applications carefully. Moorhouse added that the aim is to protect health while preventing misuse for performance reasons.

Moorhouse also spoke about weight loss drugs, an issue that has become more prominent after Serena Williams revealed she had been using them since the birth of her second child. Questions over fairness have followed, particularly because those drugs are not currently on any banned doping list. Moorhouse said the matter is under review.

“I think it’s a really interesting area and look we again, we look to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), who set this list across all sports.

“I think it’s absolutely right and proper that they’re looking at them because all of us who are not scientists look into it. For some sports, there might be a benefit there, but we will follow WADA’s lead and the expertise that they have on that.”

The outcome of that review could determine whether weight loss drugs remain permitted in professional tennis.