Aryna Sabalenka’s progress at the 2026 US Open has already altered the tone around her title defence. Annabel Croft, who had questioned whether the world No 1 could cope with recent setbacks, has now shifted her assessment after watching the top seed move through New York with authority. Martina Navratilova, meanwhile, remains more reserved and says Sabalenka’s latest display still leaves room for improvement.

Sabalenka entered the final major of the season under scrutiny after early exits at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, results that led many to doubt whether she could win a third straight US Open. Her ranking situation also added pressure, with Elena Rybakina set to move ahead if the second seed reaches the semi-final at Flushing Meadows.

Before the tournament, Croft told The Times: “… those losses will have damaged that aura. She’s vulnerable, and regardless of your ranking, tennis is about confidence – and her opponents will sense that if they can take her the distance, then she may unravel again.”

That view has changed after Sabalenka’s straight-set wins over Camila Osorio, Polina Iatcenko, Kamilla Rakhimova and Taylor Townsend. Croft later told Sky Sports Tennis: “There was a lot of ferocious intensity to what Sabalenka brought onto this court. When she went a break down in the second set, she really galvanised herself. When she got back on track, she let out the most enormous shriek and you just knew she meant business.

“The passion, the aura, the mentality, the personality, she brings so much to every court. She’s a great showwoman and puts on a show whenever she plays tennis. She understands this isn’t just sport, it’s entertainment as well.

“She is going to take some beating. She doesn’t look as vulnerable as I was expecting. So far, she hasn’t dropped a set and looks in very good shape.”

Against Taylor Townsend, Sabalenka was broken three times in the opening set but answered with four breaks of her own. Townsend also moved 3-1 ahead in the second, only for Sabalenka to respond with three more breaks and complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Navratilova gave the performance a more cautious review: “It was good enough. It was pretty solid. Townsend had more winners, but Aryna did really well returning serve and with passing shots,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles winner said on Sky Sports Tennis.

“Townsend tried to come into the net more, but she wasn’t successful there, that’s how well Sabalenka played from the baseline.

“Overall, I would give Sabalenka a B because she lost her serve so many times, but she played really well when it mattered.”

Monica Seles was left impressed after Alex Eala and Iva Jovic staged a dramatic third-round meeting at the US Open.

The pair delivered one of the standout matches of the tournament in New York, with Jovic eventually edging a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory after more than three hours on court. The hard-court Grand Slam contest was full of momentum shifts and played in front of an Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that stayed engaged throughout. Although many in the stands were behind Eala, both players drew strong support during a contest that never lost its edge.

Jovic later reflected on the physical and mental toll of the match, saying: “It took losing my earrings, falling literally flat out on the floor, cuts on my knees, mental breakdowns. It took literally everything.”

Seles, the nine-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1, also took note of the quality on display. She wrote on Instagram: “Last night’s US Open match was on 🔥. The intensity in every single point was 🙉. I wish it was a 3 out of 5 set match as I didn’t want it to end,”

The result sends Jovic into the fourth round, where she will face fellow American Coco Gauff after Gauff beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4. Jovic said the win over Eala gave her confidence, adding: “I couldn’t believe what just happened,” the teenager said after reaching the round of 16 for the first time New York. “We were both in the positive with the winners versus unforced errors, so it was just really, really high level.

“That gives me a lot of confidence, to be able to beat someone who is playing arguably top five tennis right now, with the summer that she’s had.

“I think if I can replicate that, it’s going to be good.”

For Eala, the defeat closed a Grand Slam season that brought real progress. She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at the US Open, both career firsts. After her run ended in New York, the 21-year-old Filipina posted on Instagram: “Live for the chase. Immense gratitude for what I’ve been through this week. US Open ‘26, a forever kind of memory.”

Carlos Alcaraz produced a commanding display to defeat Tommy Paul and book his place in the US Open quarter-finals, extending a remarkable run in New York. The Spaniard’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory added another chapter to what has already been a record-setting campaign at the tournament.

Alcaraz is now on a personal-best 18-match winning streak at Grand Slams after winning the US Open last year and then capturing his first Australian Open title in January. That sequence was interrupted when he missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury, a setback that raised questions about whether a best-of-five comeback at Flushing Meadows might come too soon.

Instead, he has moved through the event with increasing authority and said afterwards that his level is returning to where he wants it to be.

“I played my game. I tried to put my style on today’s match,” said Alcaraz.

He added: “Tommy is such a talented player and his shots are dangerous and hard to control, so I just tried to be ready for the battle, ready to run if it mattered.

“I tried to be aggressive all the time, and tried not to let him stay on the court.

“I put so much pressure on the return game. It helped a lot to play relaxed, calm and to think clearly.

“I’m really happy with the performance today.”

Asked whether he felt fully back to peak strength, he said: “I think so. I play well every time I come here, and I just try to enjoy it.

“It doesn’t matter I was out for four-and-a-half months, every time I come here I play my best.”

Alcaraz now owns a 90.3% win percentage record at the US Open, the best mark in history. Pete Sampras is second at 88.8%, followed by Roger Federer on 86.4% and Novak Djokovic on 85.6%.

Former British No 1 Tim Henman was equally impressed, arguing the two-time US Open champion is building momentum at exactly the right time.

“It’s a pleasure to watch Alcaraz go through the gears. He’s just got better and better as this tournament has gone on.

“Tommy Paul gave it everything he had but, at the end of the day, Alcaraz was a different class.

“The forehand was firing. I’ve seen plenty of good forehands over the years, but I think Alcaraz’s might be the best. It’s unbelievable how he hits it so hard and doesn’t look like missing.”

On this evidence, Alcaraz is emerging as a strong contender to claim a third US Open title in next Sunday’s final.