Alex Eala’s strong run continued in Washington as she fought back from a difficult position to defeat 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and advance to the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 event.

The 21-year-old recovered from 5-1 down in the second set before closing out a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory, a result that drew a loud response from her supporters in the US capital. It was another notable step in a fast-building stretch of form for the Philippines star, whose recent grass-court season included a title at the Birmingham Open and a run to the last-16 at Wimbledon.

One of the defining moments of that Wimbledon campaign came when she beat defending champion Iga Swiatek, a victory that carried her into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. She has since carried that confidence into Washington, where an opening-round win over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen was followed by this hard-earned success against Fernandez.

Against Fernandez, Eala relied on the pace and heaviness of her shots, along with clear resilience, to turn the match around after her opponent had looked in control of the second set. She also had to manage windy conditions, while the strong backing from the stands remained a constant factor throughout the contest.

“Leylah put me in some difficult positions, but I’m really happy about how I fought and hung in there,” declared Eala.

“When you know you levels drop and you want to do better, patience is key to work it out. A strong mentality in trying to find solutions.”

Eala also praised her coach Joan Bosch after the match, and the noise from the Filipino fans prompted a big reaction when it was mentioned during her on-court interview.

The win lifts her further in the WTA Rankings, where she is now up to No 28 in the live standings. If she wins three more matches this week and takes the title, she will confirm a breakthrough into the top 20.

Jannik Sinner is back on court as he prepares for the North American hard-court swing after choosing to skip the Canadian Open.

The world No 1 made headlines when he withdrew from next week’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, opting instead for a longer pause after successfully defending his Wimbledon title at the start of July. He has played only nine tournaments in 2026, yet he has still logged the second-most matches on tour with 47, behind only Alexander Zverev, who has played 55 matches across 11 events.

Sinner’s results this season have remained impressive. He has reached six finals and won all six, while Zverev has reached three finals and claimed his only title at the French Open. Even so, Sinner and his team decided that protecting his health mattered more than pursuing the rare ATP Masters 1000 goal of winning all nine titles in a single year.

The Italian has already won the Indian Wells, Miami Open, Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open and Italian Open. That run will not continue in Montreal, and his camp also appears to have wanted to avoid a repeat of Roland Garros, where he was heavily favoured before a troubling second-round collapse against Juan Manual Cerundolo.

Unlike the relentless stretch from March to June, his schedule now allows more room for recovery before he heads to the United States.

After Wimbledon, the 24-year-old and his girlfriend, model Laila Hasanovic, took a break in the luxury seaside village Porto Rafael in Sardinia. He later appeared aboard the Explora III as the first guest during the naming ceremony in Genoa, Italy. As an Explora Journeys global brand ambassador, he joined the vessel’s Mediterranean Prelude Journey from 24 to 25 July to Marseille in France.

He then visited his hometown of San Candido before being spotted back on court at the 3 Zinnen Dolomites clay courts. From South Tyrol, he returned to Monaco and resumed practice at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he has been training on the hard courts with world No 18 and Monegasque local Valentin Vacherot.

Sinner still has time to fine-tune his game before the Cincinnati Masters begins on 13 August in Mason in the United States.

The 2026 US Open is still more than five weeks away, yet the women’s withdrawal list has already reached five, with two more players set to join Victoria Mboko on the sidelines.

The singles main draw begins on Sunday, 30 August at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and plenty of the leading names have not yet started their North American hard-court campaigns. Even so, injuries have already taken a toll, and the list of absentees may still lengthen before the tournament begins.

World No 32 Hayley Baptiste will miss her home Grand Slam after suffering a serious injury in the second round of the French Open, tearing her anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. The setback ended a standout season for the 24-year-old, who had risen to a career-high No 25 after reaching the Madrid Open semi-finals. The injury also ruled her out of Wimbledon and now the US Open.

Mboko is also unavailable because of a knee injury. She damaged the medial collateral ligament in her left knee during a fall at the Queen’s Club Championship in June. After withdrawing from Wimbledon, there had been some hope of a return before Flushing Meadows, but her name was absent when organisers published the 2026 entry list.

World No 99 Varvara Gracheva is another confirmed absentee after tearing her ACL in March.

Since the entry list was released, Ajla Tomljanovic has also withdrawn. The Australian had battled a knee problem during the clay-court season, but still completed the grass-court swing and reached the semi-finals of the Libema Open. Her last match came at Wimbledon, where she exited in the opening round. Germany’s Ella Seidel has taken the direct entry made available by Tomljanovic’s withdrawal.

There are further concerns from a British perspective. British No 4 Sonay Kartal has pulled out of the alternate list, which also removes her from qualifying. She has not played since retiring from her round of 16 match at the Indian Wells Open in March because of a stress fracture in her back.

Emma Raducanu’s situation is also uncertain. The 2021 US Open champion has not played since the Queen’s Club Championship final on 14 June and has already missed the Nottingham Open, Eastbourne Open and Wimbledon with a stress fracture in her right leg. Her comeback has been delayed further, and she will also skip the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. Her name remains on the US Open entry list, but her participation is still in doubt.