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Zverev’s Shelton remarks draw criticism after US Open triumph

Zverev’s Shelton comments spark criticism after his US Open final win in New York.

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Alexander Zverev’s post-match comments about Ben Shelton have prompted backlash after his US Open final win.

The German captured his first US Open title and second Grand Slam of 2026 by defeating Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday. It was a fitting finish to a tournament that had not started smoothly, with Zverev pushed to five sets in each of his first two matches before gradually finding his rhythm. By the time the final arrived, he produced his strongest performance of the event.

Shelton, meanwhile, had arrived at the final as one of the standout players of the tournament. Before the championship match, he had recorded notable wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alcaraz, and Tiafoe.

Zverev was sharper from the baseline and managed to blunt Shelton’s returning threat in a contest that lasted three hours and 33 minutes. Afterward, he highlighted the improvement in Shelton’s game and credited the work the American has done with father and coach Bryan Shelton.

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He said, “You see him and his father all the time after the matches, before the matches, working on different things. Every single year he keeps improving something.

“I just played him today. I think this was the best backhand he’s hit ever against me, the most consistent power; there was everything there.

“I remember a couple of years ago when I first played him, he was always dangerous, he always had that serve and that forehand. But if you hit three or four balls to his forehand, there would be an error. That was absolutely not the case today.”

However, other remarks from Zverev were less well received. The French Open champion suggested it was a “mistake” for Tiafoe and Alcaraz to give Shelton pace on the backhand side.

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That view did not sit well with some observers online, with criticism quickly following. Shelton’s path to the final included a tiebreak win over Alcaraz in the quarter-finals and a four-set comeback against Tiafoe in the semi-finals.

Alcaraz reached the US Open quarter-finals after more than four months away with a wrist injury. He remains on seven majors and is the youngest player ever to complete the career Grand Slam.

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Pegula’s 2026 consistency puts her ahead of Sabalenka and Rybakina in WTA wins

Pegula’s 50 wins in 2026 put her ahead of Sabalenka and Rybakina in the WTA race.

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Jessica Pegula may still be searching for a first Grand Slam title, but her 2026 campaign has been a model of consistency and output.

The American has already reached two Grand Slam semi finals, doing so at the Australian Open and the US Open, while also advancing to the quarter finals of Wimbledon. She has added titles at the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Charleston Open, and has also reached three more WTA Tour finals this season.

That run has now given Pegula a statistic that stands above both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka and Rybakina have shared one of the season’s main rivalries, meeting in the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open. Even so, Pegula now has more victories across the year than either of the Grand Slam champions.

Pegula claimed her 50th win of the season by defeating Emma Navarro in the quarter finals of the US Open, moving clear at the top of the WTA Tour’s victory table. Rybakina is just behind on 49, while Sabalenka has 46.

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The numbers also reflect workload. Pegula has compiled her 50 wins in 63 matches. Rybakina has 49 wins from 62 matches, and Sabalenka has collected 46 wins from 55 matches this season. Sabalenka has had difficult spells during the year, but her total remains impressive.

Behind the leading three, Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva has 44 wins, while Elina Svitolina has 43. Alexandra Eala, who topped the victories list earlier in the season after winning the Washington Open, is now seventh with 40.

Pegula is next scheduled to play the Singapore Open, which begins on 21st September. Rybakina and Sabalenka are due back at the China Open, the penultimate Masters tournament on the WTA Tour.

Pegula is currently third in the race for the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, and is well placed to qualify again for the event scheduled for November 8th to 15th.

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Alcaraz sets out packed finish to 2026 after injury-delayed return

Alcaraz returns to action with a busy late-season schedule after his wrist injury.

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Carlos Alcaraz has mapped out the closing stretch of his 2026 season, with seven tournaments added to his schedule for the remainder of the year. Only four of those events will count as official ATP Tour appearances.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has been limited to seven tournaments so far this season after a right wrist injury interrupted his campaign. He was sidelined for four months and did not return to match play until the US Open, where he reached the quarter-finals before losing in five sets to Ben Shelton.

Before the setback, Alcaraz had already picked up important results. He won the Australian Open and the Qatar Open, and also finished runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the Monte Carlo Masters. His year, however, was badly affected when he injured his wrist at the Barcelona Open. That issue forced him to miss the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

At Flushing Meadows, he was cleared to compete and moved through five matches without any visible effects from the wrist problem. With the injury now said to be fully behind him, the world No. 3 is preparing for a crowded end to the year.

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His next stop is the Laver Cup, which will be staged at the O2 Arena in London from 25 to 27 September. He will again feature for Team Europe, alongside newly-crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Jodar, Jakub Mensik and Casper Ruud. It will be his third straight appearance in the event, and Team Europe will be aiming to take back the title after Team World’s 15-9 win in San Francisco last year.

Alcaraz then returns to ATP Tour action in Tokyo, where he will defend his Japan Open title from 30 September. He follows that with the Shanghai Masters from 7 to 18 October, a tournament where he will not be defending points after missing last year’s event with an ankle injury.

After that, he is scheduled for the exhibition Six Kings Slam in Riyadh from 21 to 24 October, before the Paris Masters from 2 to 8 November and the ATP Finals in Turin from 15 to 22 November. His final event of the season is likely to be the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy, provided Spain qualify.

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Zverev closes in on Sinner as the ATP ranking battle intensifies

Zverev has cut into Sinner’s lead, and the points race is now tightly balanced.

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Jannik Sinner had to view the outcome from afar as Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton in the US Open final to secure a second Grand Slam title.

Zverev has made the most of injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner during the season, adding both Roland Garros and the US Open to his resume. That run has left the race at the top of the ATP Tour rankings finely poised, with only 1810 points separating Zverev and Sinner.

The German now has a clear opportunity to challenge for the No. 1 spot before the year is out, while Sinner faces a demanding return to the tour. The Italian is expected back at the China Open, which starts on September 30th, but that comeback arrives after a long absence from competition. He has not played since Wimbledon in July, so regaining rhythm will be part of the challenge.

The pressure on Sinner goes beyond form. Between now and the end of the 2026 season, he is defending 3,550 ranking points. Much of that total comes from a strong run at this stage last year, when he won the China Open, the Vienna Open, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals.

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That means he will need to reproduce those results to protect his points and hold off Zverev in the closing months of the season. The one event where he will not carry that same burden is the Shanghai Masters, scheduled for October 7th to 18th, because he was defeated in the round of 32 there in 2025 by Tallon Griekspoor after fatigue set in.

There are still unknowns around Sinner’s physical condition, and the calendar offers little room for adjustment. Even so, he has already shown he can beat the best without much match play. He won Wimbledon without a warm-up tournament on grass, defeating Novak Djokovic, Zverev, and Jenson Brooksby along the way.

Zverev, by contrast, enters the run-in with only 1,040 points to defend. He did not win a title during this stretch in 2025, giving him a strong opening to collect points and keep pressing for the top of the ATP Tour.

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