Aryna Sabalenka began her Cincinnati Open run with a composed victory over Talia Gibson, winning 6-2, 7-6 to move past the disappointment of her early exit in Canada. In that tournament, Ekaterina Alexandrova ended her stay in the fourth round, but Sabalenka responded with a cleaner result here.

The world No 1 is also playing under the added weight of the rankings race. With only 529 points separating her from Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour, Sabalenka is trying to protect the top position she has held for the past two seasons. This has not been one of her strongest years on tour, especially through the clay and grass swings, and she has not lifted a title since the Miami Open in March.

Sabalenka has also spoken this season about how she has handled those difficulties. In an interview with The Tennis Channel, she discussed the way she works with Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacy and Max Mirnyi. “If I see my team start criticizing me too harshly, I think we’d end up in a big fight, and it wouldn’t be a good fight. Every player receives information differently,” she said about communication with coaches Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacy and Max Mirnyi.

She added: “Early in my career, I was heavily criticized and grew up in that environment, but today we like to talk about what’s happening, put it into perspective, and make adjustments.

“In tough times, we get closer, have fun, have barbecues, and try to relax a bit because there’s a lot of pressure. I feel like my recipe for overcoming these big challenges is through conversation and having fun.”

Next up for Sabalenka is Wang Xinyu in the third round, their second meeting on the WTA Tour and first since 2022. Sabalenka won their previous match at the 2022 Australian Open after dropping the opening set. She leads Wang by 40 places in the rankings, with Wang currently No 41.

The section around Sabalenka has already opened up, with Barbora Krejčíková and Donna Vekic out. The winner of Sabalenka and Wang will face either Sara Bejlek or Alexandrova. Looking further ahead, Elina Svitolina appears the likeliest quarter-final opponent, Coco Gauff the most likely semi-final hurdle, and Rybakina could yet meet Sabalenka in the final. That would make the race for world No 1 even more significant.

Emma Raducanu has not played since losing the Queen’s Club WTA 500 final in June, and her latest injury absence is now beginning to show in the rankings.

During that grass-court run in London, Raducanu suffered a stress fracture in his foot, an issue that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. She has since confirmed that her return will not come soon enough for the US Open, where the fifth anniversary of her famous title at Flushing Meadows will be noted this year.

Her time away from the tour has led to a steady loss of ranking points, and it is now confirmed that she will lose her status as British No 1 by the end of this week. Katie Boulter has endured a difficult run for results in recent months, but she is still set to move ahead of Raducanu when the WTA Rankings are updated next Monday and will begin the US Open as British No 1.

The damage may not stop there. Raducanu is also due to lose the 130 points she earned by reaching the third round of last year’s US Open, and with no clear sign of a return, there is a chance she could fall out of the top 100 by the end of 2026.

That would leave her needing lower-level events, qualifying draws, or wild cards when she does return, extending a difficult stretch in her career.

Former World No 1 Andy Roddick addressed the situation on his Served podcast and offered a blunt assessment of the setback.

“We might not even see her for the rest of this year. It just stinks because she is so good and it’s just the stop and start of things,” said Roddick.

“You can’t get around a stress fracture, that’s not a pain tolerance thing at all. It has to heal or you are going to cause extreme long-term damage. It just stinks. She could be such a bright spot for the tours and it just seems like there are speed bumps all the time, which is just unfortunate.

“She was playing great at Queen’s too, like she was going to blow the roof off of Wimbledon. She is so good and so injured all the time.”

“It’s got to be kind of depressing for her too. I keep thinking we are going to get six months where we are going to be able to go and play and do all the things and we are just not able to get it.”

Carlos Alcaraz is reportedly increasing the intensity of his practice work before the US Open, but he has also been advised not to hurry back in time for New York.

The defending champion has not played a competitive match since the wrist injury he suffered at the Barcelona Open in April. He then withdrew from this week’s Cincinnati Masters, saying he was not ready to return.

Although social media has shown him hitting with more force on court, a first match back in a best-of-five-set Grand Slam would represent a major test. That is the main reason former British No 1 Greg Rusedski believes caution should remain the priority.

“I think it’s a big risk. I think you’ve got to come out of a two-out-of-three-set match to start because it’s one thing to practice, it’s another thing to play a match,” said Rusedski on the next edition of his podcast, which will be released on Monday.

He added that match pressure changes everything. “The adrenaline in the body, going hell for leather, you always go up with your tennis about an extra five, ten per cent from what you do in practice, no matter how hard you train.

“Plus, there’s the nerves and the expectation. You’re not gonna bounce back and come in with a three-out-of-five set match. I would be shocked if he plays the US Open. To me, he had to play Cincinnati to have a chance to go to the Open.

“So I would be surprised. After the US Open, I think possibly we might see him back, or maybe not even till next year.

“He’s not going to make the mistake with his risk. He doesn’t want to risk it. So I don’t see him still playing at the US Open, even though we’re seeing a lot of progress in his comeback.”

Rusedski also raised questions over Jannik Sinner after the Italian withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters because of a knee problem.

“Well, if he’s not in New York early in the week before the tournament starts, I don’t see him playing,” he added.

He said the situation could leave the men’s event wide open, while also stressing the strain of the tour. “But health is your wealth, and these guys have to take the time. It just shows you how physical the tour is. Because Sinner looked like the guy who’s never going to break down, and he’s the one who’s having a knee problem now.

“I just want to stop talking about injuries. Come on. Let’s stop the injuries. Let’s all get healthy. Let’s get everybody back on board.”