Carlos Alcaraz marked his comeback with a straight-sets win at the US Open after four months away because of a wrist injury, but the match offered more than just a successful return. Against Roman Safiullin, the defending champion admitted he was carrying real uncertainty about whether his body and mind were ready for a best-of-five-set contest.

That hesitation was visible early. Alcaraz appeared tense in the opening stages, and some of his first serves in the first set fell below 100mph. Even so, the quality that has long defined his game still surfaced, especially through his forehand, which produced several of the kind of winners that have become his trademark. He completed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory and will next face Portugal’s Jaime Faria.

“There were some doubts in the match, I’m not going to lie. Thinking about if I would last the match, best of five, playing four or five sets,” said Alcaraz, who will play Portugal’s Jaime Faria next.

“I had a little bit of doubt, but I tried to forget everything and focus on the things I needed to improve. I thought about what would happen in the match and physically I felt really well.”

His return also drew attention for reasons beyond tennis. Alcaraz wore a new brown Nike outfit, one that revealed more of his upper torso than usual, and he repeatedly adjusted it during the match. The basketball-style top, partially designed by rapper Travis Scott, quickly became a talking point online.

Former British No 1 Laura Robson captured the reaction courtside, saying: “It could do with a little more material,” said Robson, as she watched on from courtside for Sky Sports. “But it depends what you are looking for!”

Alcaraz was also asked about his hair after the match. Unlike his shaved look at last year’s US Open, he is now wearing his hair long and using an Alice band. He made clear that no change is coming during the event.

“In the tournament, I’m gonna keep it long, for sure,” declared Alcaraz.

“Then I don’t know! Once I start a tournament with a hairstyle, then I have to keep it until the tournament is finished.”

There are now 22 withdrawals from the 2026 US Open across the men’s and women’s singles draws, with the opening round still underway at Flushing Meadows.

Main draw action began on Sunday 30 August at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, as the 146th edition of the event got under way. The volume of absences has continued a familiar pattern in 2026, with withdrawals again becoming a notable feature of major tournaments.

Of the 22 players who have stepped aside, 13 are men and nine are women. Twenty of those withdrawals were confirmed before the singles draws were released, while the latest developments came after play had already started.

Among the biggest names to pull out earlier were Jannik Sinner, Victoria Mboko, Joao Fonseca, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.

The newest ATP withdrawal was Casper Ruud, who had been set to open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The former world No 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist withdrew on Sunday because of a back injury that forced him to retire at the Cincinnati Masters.

Marin Cilic then became the second prominent ATP player to exit after the tournament began. The 37-year-old Croatian pulled out before his scheduled first-round meeting with Andrey Rublev on Monday, also due to injury.

Cilic’s place in US Open history remains secure. He won his only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, where he defeated Kei Nishikori in the final after beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

The withdrawal lists also show replacements across both draws, with several players coming in as lucky losers or direct alternates. In total, the early exits have reshaped both the men’s and women’s fields before the tournament has even reached its second round stage.

For the first time, a player born in the 2010s will appear in a Grand Slam main draw, and the US Open will also feature six other teenagers in the women’s field at Flushing Meadows.

Kristina Liutova is the youngest entrant in the 2026 draw, with the group also including one 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds and three 19-year-olds. Among them are players who have already collected major trophies, climbed inside the top five, or are moving toward the top 10.

Here is a look at the seven youngest women in the 2026 US Open main draw.

Tereza Valentova, 19 years and six months, arrives after reaching the Japan Women’s Open final in October 2025 and the third round of the Australian Open at the start of 2026. The Czech, who has been as high as No 42, won both girls’ titles at the 2024 French Open and was runner-up at the 2023 US Open. She opens against 24th seed Anastasia Potapova.

Mirra Andreeva, 19 years and four months, made her WTA debut at 15 in 2022 and went on to win the French Open this April. Now at a career-high No 5, she faces Janice Tjen. Her US Open record remains modest, with second-round exits in 2023 and 2024 and a third-round loss last year.

Alina Korneeva, 19 years and two months, begins against Madison Keys in her first US Open appearance. The Russian reached round two at the 2024 Australian Open as a 16-year-old qualifier and is now ranked No 67.

Iva Jovic, 18 years and eight months, reached the second round at both the 2024 and 2025 US Opens. She later won her first WTA Tour singles title in Guadalajara, was runner-up in Brisbane at the start of 2026 and followed that with a quarter-final run in Melbourne. She is now at a career-high No 14 and plays Magdalena Frech.

Lilli Tagger, 18 years and six months, made her WTA Tour debut in October 2025, reached the Jiangxi Open final and later won the Prague Open in July. The French Open girls’ singles champion is now No 48 and meets Tamara Korpatsch.

Thea Frodin, 17 years and eight months, makes her Grand Slam debut as a wildcard against No 2 seed Elena Rybakina after reaching the Australian Open girls’ semi-finals. She is ranked No 580.

Liutova, 16 years and six months, became the youngest tour-level women’s singles champion since Coco Gauff in 2019 when she won the Memphis Classic in July 2026 after qualifying. Now No 125, she also came through qualifying for her first Grand Slam main draw.