Mark Petchey, the former coach of Emma Raducanu, has floated a major rethink of Grand Slam seedings, saying the sport may be protecting too many top players at its biggest events.

Under the current system, which has been in place since 2001, the top 32 players in the rankings receive a seed at the majors. That arrangement keeps them apart until at least the third round and gives the leading names a measure of security on the biggest stages.

Petchey, though, believes tennis could benefit from a sharper, less predictable draw. Speaking on The Big T, he said: “I honestly feel that because of the way that we look at rankings and the way that we look at seedings, we end up taking away from the sport. I actually think that we should get away with seedings.

“I am sitting on the fence of not going full medieval and saying zero seedings. But I am starting to think that maybe we just have four. In the majors we used to have just 16. I just think in many ways seeding is about protection.”

He added that a reduced seeding structure would create earlier heavyweight meetings and, in turn, more interest for supporters. “I think if you put the drama and sport first, can you imagine a player ranked five in the world playing someone ranked six in the world.

“And also if you did the draw once the entry list was done, almost six weeks out, people would have an idea of who is going to play who on each day. You could then dynamically sell tickets if five plays six in the world on the first day.

“Those tickets would then sell for me because everybody is going to get super interested in that match, whereas at the moment it’s a slow burn up, where you charge more for the final because it’s the championship match.

“But you make every day in that case far more valuable, because you suddenly have this huge match, which nobody in the past has been expecting.”

Petchey also said: “I appreciate people want to see Alcaraz and Sinner in the finals, but there is a part of me that wonders if tennis can be run better. Anybody working in tennis who says this is the best product and can’t be any better is deluding themselves. I’m not saying these are the ideas we should use, but I do think there is a way of putting the sport first and players to a degree second.”

The current ATP top four are Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. If those positions stayed unchanged for the US Open, Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, and Alex de Minaur could meet in round one.

Petchey’s view is that such a format would bring immediate intrigue to the opening week and make any eventual champion work harder for the title.

Alex Eala’s surge to the Washington Open crown has made her one of the more intriguing names to watch before the US Open.

The Filipina captured the title by defeating Jessica Pegula in three sets. Along the way, she also beat Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka, adding more weight to a breakout run that has sharpened attention on what might come next.

Eala is set to continue her buildup through the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open before arriving in New York. That sequence has already prompted plenty of interest from her supporters, who are eager to see whether she can produce another strong showing at Flushing Meadows this year.

Her 2025 US Open already offered a breakthrough moment. There, she recorded the first Grand Slam main draw victory of her career by overcoming Clara Tauson before falling to Cristina Bucsa in the second round.

Recent history suggests the Washington title can be a useful marker for the next major. The last five Washington Open winners before Eala were Leylah Fernandez, Paula Badosa, Coco Gauff, Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Pegula.

The record has been varied, but none of those champions exited in the first two rounds of the US Open. Fernandez reached the third round last year, Badosa went on to make the quarter-finals in 2023, and Samsonova reached the fourth round in 2022. Pegula advanced to the third round in 2021.

The standout case remains Gauff, who won in Washington and then captured the US Open in the same season, beating Maria Sakkari in the final. If Eala can follow a similar path, she would register the best US Open result of her career.

The US Open is expected to intensify the wider argument over Grand Slam prize money when the USTA confirms this year’s player payouts, with another sizeable rise anticipated.

Last year’s tournament pushed the issue into sharper focus after New York became the first Grand Slam to award both its men’s and women’s singles champions $5m. The overall prize fund reached $90 million, a 20 per cent increase from $75 million in 2024.

Even so, some players believe those numbers still do not go far enough. Their argument is not only about larger cheques, but about receiving a greater share of tournament revenue rather than profit alone. There have even been threats of strike action if their demands are not met.

The scale of the business behind the event makes the discussion more pointed. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) reported $623.8million in revenue in 2024, with $559.6 million, or 90% of the total, coming from the US Open. Audited figures also showed event expenses of $282.2 million and an operating profit of about $277.4 million.

Against that backdrop, the USTA has announced an $800m overhaul of the New York venue, including a renovation of the main stadium and a new player performance facility nearby. The governing body is also expected to take on considerable debt to support the project, making future tournament income even more important.

Ticket pricing already reflects the scale of the event. Courtside resale tickets for Roger Federer’s exhibition on the Tuesday before the main draw were listed at $11,925.00, while men’s singles final resale seats were available at $20,921.07. Women’s final face-value tickets were listed at $5,885.38, and opening-day upper-tier Arthur Ashe Stadium resale tickets at $427.56.

There are cheaper options, including $65 ground passes and some show-court tickets under $200, but even ground passes were being resold for $306.40. For many fans, the US Open has become an event defined by corporate spending and premium experiences rather than accessibility.