Roger Federer made a return to the US Open during its Opening Week, taking part in practice sessions and exhibition matches with Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe.

On Tuesday, 25 August, Federer beat Roddick 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium before joining a doubles match with the three Grand Slam champions. He also spent time on court with ATP player Lorenzo Musetti as he prepared for his appearances at Flushing Meadows.

Although Federer has ruled out a full-time comeback to the ATP Tour, his level has continued to draw attention after that practice session. In an interview with Sky Sports Italia, Fabio Fognini relayed what Musetti’s coach, Simone Tartarini, told him after the Italian trained with the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

“I haven’t spoken to Musetti yet, but Simone Tartarini (Musetti’s coach) sent me some videos of yesterday’s practice session,” said the Italian.

“He told me that in his opinion, Federer, over a single match, would still beat at least 80 of the 100 best players in the world. The level has dropped.”

Federer has not competed since the 2022 season, when he officially retired at the Laver Cup, the event he helped create. Injuries, especially to his knee, limited him in the closing stages of his career and kept him away from many of the biggest tournaments.

Even so, his record remains formidable. He retired with 103 ATP Tour titles, including 20 Masters titles, along with an Olympic gold medal in doubles, the 2014 Davis Cup title and three Hopman Cup crowns for Switzerland.

Later this week, Federer will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. He enters in his first year of eligibility and will join Justine Henin, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt and Stefan Edberg.

The ceremony runs from 27 to 29 August, and Federer is also scheduled to play a match during the weekend, although the opponent has not yet been confirmed. That match will be on grass, which would make it his first on the surface since his Wimbledon quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021.

Elena Rybakina has moved to the front of the Race to the WTA Finals after a strong swing through Toronto and Cincinnati, with the US Open set to begin later this week. Aryna Sabalenka, who had been the player to chase, now sits behind her, while Alex Eala is placed 15th in the standings.

Rybakina, the world No 2, finished as runner-up at the Canadian Open and then went on to reach the quarter-finals at the Cincinnati Open. Sabalenka, by contrast, went out in the fourth round at both tournaments.

The US Open begins on Sunday 30 August and is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the 2026 season.

The route to the WTA Finals is straightforward. The eight women who earn the most ranking points during 2026 will qualify for the season-ending championship, which will be staged at Indian Wells in the United States from 8 to 15 November. If a Grand Slam champion from the current year finishes between ninth and 20th in the Race, that player receives the eighth and final qualifying place.

The event was originally scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after the 2024 and 2025 editions were held there, but the venue has now been switched to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Rybakina is also the defending WTA Finals champion. Last year she collected a record-breaking $5,235,000 for winning the title.

At the top of the latest standings, Rybakina leads with 5,492 points. Sabalenka is second on 5,185, just ahead of Mirra Andreeva on 5,184. Jessica Pegula has moved up to fourth after reaching the Cincinnati final, while Coco Gauff is fifth following her title run there. Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova complete the current qualification spots.

Below the cut line, Marta Kostyuk is ninth and Iga Swiatek is 10th after her title in Toronto and semi-final showing in Cincinnati brought her back into the race. Eala, who has won eight matches across Washington DC, Toronto and Cincinnati, remains 15th with 2,061 points.

Boris Becker has cast doubt on whether Aryna Sabalenka remains fully locked in on tennis as she arrives at the 2026 US Open after an uneven stretch of results.

Sabalenka has spent 97 straight weeks at world No 1 since October 2024, a run that has underlined her consistency across the past two seasons. Even so, the 28-year-old from Belarus is now under pressure, with only 434 points separating her from world No 2 Elena Rybakina. Top spot could be in jeopardy in New York.

Her results since lifting the Miami Open title in March have been well below her standard. Across seven tournaments, Sabalenka has not reached another final and has made only one semi-final. Her most recent three events, in Cincinnati, Toronto and Wimbledon, all ended in fourth-round defeats.

On the Becker Petkovic podcast, in conversation with former WTA player Andrea Petkovic, Becker questioned whether tennis is still Sabalenka’s main priority.

“Is it a sporting question? Or is it a question of attitude and mentality? Because it all sounds to me like she isn’t handling the pressure right now, regardless of who the opponent is. She herself isn’t putting too much pressure on,” said the former world No 1 (translated from German).

He added: “The question is: why? I like her, I enjoy watching her, but at the moment, she is seen more often on her social media platforms than on the tennis court.

“That’s all fine. Maybe the focus has been lost a little. She has been playing successfully for a long time, has earned a lot of money, won a lot of titles, and so on.

“She’s recently engaged. Is her private life her focus right now? And tennis number two? Because that would explain it.”

Becker also suggested a coaching change could help, pointing to Iga Swiatek’s recent reset.

“Has she lost her inner belief in her own strength? That’s what I would judge as a hobby psychologist,” Becker continued.

“And that is also a sign, when you simply make these unforced errors in the decisive phases. You can play poorly sometimes, but the opponent can also hit the ball out. That’s why you should get the ball in, get into the rally first, maybe they’ll hit it into the net.

“But when she tries to go for a winner on the very first shot, that speaks to fear, that speaks to insecurity. That she doesn’t even want to get into the rally.

“But this hasn’t just happened once, it’s happened since April, and at some point, it really gnaws at your self confidence.

“Something is missing. The question is always, can the team around her provide that? Or, does she need a change of scenery?

“[Iga] Swiatek has a new coach since the spring: Francisco Roig. It doesn’t go well immediately, but now after three months, she has found her old form again.

“Does Sabalenka, perhaps, need a different approach, a different training mode. Because at some point, when you’ve been working successfully with your team for years, you’ve heard everything 11 times already, and it’s no longer that exciting.”