Rennae Stubbs has moved to defend Venus Williams after renewed criticism over the repeated use of singles wildcards.

The seven-time major champion was among eight women handed a wildcard for this year’s US Open, even though she has lost all 10 of her matches in 2026. Williams is also on a 13-match losing streak, with her last singles win coming at the Washington Open in July 2025.

That run has prompted some fans to argue that tournament organisers should stop offering her this route into events and instead hand opportunities to other players they view as more deserving. Stubbs, however, sees the situation differently.

Speaking before Williams’ first-round match against fellow American wildcard Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams’ coach said Venus remains a major attraction and continues to draw spectators. Stubbs said on her podcast, “I am going to let Venus decide when she wants to retire, I am going to let the tournaments decide when they don’t want to give her a wildcard because she still puts bums in seats, she still sells and people love to see her play.

“Until the tournament decides another player is more important to give a wildcard to, that’s up to them. I was on the tennis court with her today practising. I have never seen somebody love tennis so much and she is practising out there for hours.

“If you think she is just rocking up and playing and not putting the work in, you are sorely wrong on that. She was out there for almost three hours. She is putting the effort in, she’s working hard, I think we should appreciate her while we have her. I don’t think it’s going to be much longer; we’ll see.”

Stubbs also said Williams still strikes the ball “unbelievably” well and pointed to the crowds she drew in Cincinnati, where there were long queues outside her court, in contrast to Alexander Zverev playing in front of “half a stadium”.

For Stubbs, the equation remains one of supply and demand. As long as that continues, she believes Williams will keep receiving wildcards, even if the end of her career cannot be far away.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have been placed on the same side of the 2026 US Open draw, and both begin with testing opening rounds in New York.

Alcaraz returns to competitive singles for the first time since sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in mid-April, with the Spaniard back at Flushing Meadows as the defending champion. His opening opponent is Roman Safiullin, a player who holds a 1-1 head-to-head record with the 23-year-old.

With world No 1 Jannik Sinner absent because of a knee injury, French Open Alexander Zverev is the top seed. Alcaraz, the second seed, sits in the opposite half, while Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded third in Zverev’s section. Djokovic, meanwhile, could again meet Alcaraz in the semi-finals, just as he did last year.

The top names also face difficult early tests. Zverev opens against Lorenzo Sonego, Auger-Aliassime starts against Rinky Hijikata, and Djokovic meets Mariano Navone, who is ranked 49th at the time of writing after being listed as the former world No 29.

There are several other notable first-round matches. Stan Wawrinka, who is soon to retire, faces Matteo Berrettini, and the winner could run into Djokovic in round two. Marin Cilic begins against 23rd seed Andrey Rublev, Arthur Fils meets Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Rafael Jodar opens against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The projected paths also underline how open the draw may be. Djokovic’s possible route includes Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Brandon Nakashima and Daniil Medvedev before a semi-final with Alcaraz and a final against Zverev. Alcaraz’s projected path features Jenson Brooksby, Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Arthur Fils before that potential meeting with Djokovic.

Zverev’s and Auger-Aliassime’s possible routes also point toward difficult finishes, with Alex De Minaur appearing in both halves of their projected paths.

Concern is rising over Casper Ruud’s US Open prospects after video surfaced of the Norwegian looking uncomfortable during a practice hit.

The 27-year-old’s build-up to the final major of the year has already been interrupted. He suffered an early defeat in Canada and later withdrew from Cincinnati because of injury. In his opening match at that final Masters 1000 event before Flushing Meadows, Ruud lost the first set to Christopher O’Connell, then took a medical timeout. The back problem affecting him did not ease, and the former US Open finalist retired while 2-1 ahead in the second set.

There had been some signs that the issue might have settled after he teamed up with Diana Shnaider in the mixed-doubles event earlier this week. The pair reached the quarter-finals before losing to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

Ruud’s own social media post on Wednesday also suggested he was ready to turn his focus to singles. He thanked the Russian for a “fun event”, while looking ahead to the main draw.

Later that day, though, footage emerged of him appearing to struggle while hitting with Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry. On social media, prominent tennis presence, @AnnaK-4ever, said Ruud ended the session more than an hour early, that he “couldn’t serve” and that even the groundstrokes caused him “considerable pain”.

This has been a difficult season by his standards. Ruud is 25-16 in 2026 and has slipped to No 20 in the rankings. His best campaign came in 2022, when he won 51 matches, lost 22 times and finished third in the world. He ended 2023 at No 11, moved up to No 6 in 2024, and was No 12 at the close of 2025 with a 71% win rate. In 2026, that figure has fallen to 61%.

With 20 players already withdrawing from the US Open due to injury, Ruud’s latest setback has only added to the uncertainty. If he does not pull out, he may still be limited in New York.