Alex Eala has established herself among the WTA’s leading names after a summer that transformed her profile. The Filipina’s progress on grass was highlighted by a title run at the Birmingham Open challenger, followed by a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon and a semifinal appearance in Berlin.

She carried that momentum into the North American hardcourt swing, where she claimed her first WTA title at the Washington Open. En route to the WTA 500 trophy, Eala beat Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, and Naomi Osaka in successive matches, a run that lifted her sharply up the rankings.

Just before the US Open, Eala sits at world No 18, a position that has already made Southeast Asian history in the women’s game. She is now the highest ranked player from that region in WTA Tour history, moving beyond Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn, both of whom reached a career-best world No 19.

She narrowly missed a place inside the top 16, which would have improved her path in the opening rounds, but her recent results still leave her as one of the event’s dark horses.

The 21-year-old will also make her debut in the US Open Mixed Doubles Challenge, her second appearance in the main draw at Flushing Meadows. She will partner Felix Auger-Aliassime, and the pair have been drawn against Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils. If they advance, Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka could be next, with Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe waiting in the other opening-round match.

Other teams in the draw include Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova, and Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. Last year’s title was won by Sara Errani and Andreas Vavassori, who were outspoken about the new format. “Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations,” they wrote. “In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show.

“We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players. We don’t know at the moment if we’ll have the chance to defend our title but we hope this remains an isolated case.” Errani and Vavassori will face Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva in the first round.

Jannik Sinner has become the latest major withdrawal from the US Open after confirming that a knee injury will keep him out of the final Grand Slam of the year. His absence has revived the wider conversation around why so many leading players are dealing with long-term injuries.

The field is already thin in several sections. A former US Open semi-finalist is still dealing with a bone bruising injury in his arm that has not healed, while Carlos Alcaraz is returning to New York after missing the last four months with a wrist injury.

The men’s draw has also lost Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Ethan Quinn, Sebastian Korda, Holger Rune, Gabriel Diallo and Emilio Nava. On the women’s side, Victoria Mboko, Hailey Baptiste, Emma Raducanu and Ajla Tomljanovic are among those unavailable.

The Professional Tennis Players Association has now added data to the discussion, reporting a marked jump in injury problems among top players. Its figures show upper-body injuries are up 42%, arm injuries have increased by 112%, match-ending injuries are up 53% and re-injuries are 55%.

Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou responded to the numbers in a LinkedIn post and argued that the explanation is more complex than the calendar alone.

“Those figures are concerning,” declared Mouratoglou on a LinkedIn post. “They come from a PTPA injury analysis comparing Q1 2026 with the average Q1 figures from the previous seven years and with a rolling 12-month average over the previous seven years.

“The calendar is often presented as the obvious explanation for this increase. I’m not convinced.

“I’m not saying the tennis calendar is perfect. The Masters 1000 events have become longer, but players aren’t necessarily playing more matches and they have more recovery time between some of them. For me, that alone doesn’t explain such a dramatic increase.

“There is another detail in these numbers that I find particularly interesting: the injuries increasing so sharply are upper-body injuries.

“That makes me look elsewhere. The first thing I would investigate is the evolution of the surfaces.

“Since the early 2000s, surfaces have progressively become slower and more homogeneous. Grass is a very good example. There was a time when even clay-court players had to serve and volley there. Today, most players stay at the baseline.

“This evolution has also reduced the variety of playing styles. Players spend much more time exchanging from the baseline at very high intensity, hitting the ball extremely hard over and over again. That creates enormous stress on the arm, elbow and shoulder.

“Then there are the balls. Players can compete with one type of ball one week and a completely different one the next. Some are heavier, some lighter, some more explosive. The upper body constantly has to adapt to different stresses.

“I’ve also heard many players complain about how quickly some balls lose their qualities. When the ball becomes less lively, producing the same depth, pace and weight requires more effort. Multiply that by thousands of shots in practice and competition, and it’s something worth investigating seriously.”

He also said the worsening figures are especially hard to accept in light of modern sports medicine and preparation.

“I find these numbers even more frustrating because sports medicine and physical preparation have improved enormously,” he added.

“When I started my Academy in 1996, I was already working with top physios who explained how much could be done through injury prevention. Over the last 20 years, that work has become incredibly sophisticated. And now we’re seeing numbers moving dramatically in the wrong direction.

“I don’t pretend to have the definitive explanation, but these figures should push the governing bodies to investigate the surfaces, the balls and every factor that could explain why upper-body injuries are increasing so sharply.

“Find the causes, then find solutions. Because these numbers are not acceptable for the health of the players.”

Rafael Jodar’s swift climb has prompted advice that he may benefit from adding another coach to work alongside his father.

The 19-year-old Spaniard has moved from 168th in the world at the start of the year to the brink of the top 10. His breakthrough campaign has included a maiden ATP Tour title in Morocco in April, as well as quarter-final runs in Madrid, Rome and the French Open. He also reached the last four in Montreal and finished runner-up in Washington this summer.

That form has lifted Jodar to 11th in the rankings and seventh in the race to Turin. Even so, former world No 1 in women’s doubles Rennae Stubbs believes an added experienced voice could help him deal with the demands that come with the next level.

Jodar and his father have earned considerable credit for getting this far, but Stubbs thinks a top coach could help refine the details that matter in the biggest moments. On her latest podcast, she pointed to Juan Carlos Ferrero as a possible addition.

Stubbs said on the latest episode of her podcast, “He [Jodar] was lovely, a delight to talk to, he answered the questions really in-depth. He was great with the fans.

“I do think there’s a little snippety or snickety [side to him], [he’s a] bit punchy sometimes on the court. But he’s 19; he’s learning to deal with these pressures now.”

She continued, “Maybe someone to add… Juan Carlos Ferrero. Somebody that can add that extra layer of how to emotionally handle the semi-final and the final. How to deal with the press.”

Stubbs also praised Jodar’s father, saying he has done a “great job” and is a “lovely human being”, while noting that the move from promising talent to major champion is never simple.

For now, Jodar is still progressing with little going wrong. He heads to Cincinnati hoping for another deep run before making his first US Open appearance.

Ferrero, who coached Carlos Alcaraz for six of his seven Grand Slam titles, has also spoken in the past about the possibility of working with Jannik Sinner. In June, he said it would be “beautiful” to coach the Italian and added that he likes Sinner’s attitude.