Alexander Zverev has closed 2026 with a record that places him above every other man in Grand Slam titles this year, following his emphatic US Open success. Even so, the conversation around his achievements has not moved on cleanly, with some still eager to argue that circumstances have done much of the work for him.

For years, Zverev occupied the uncomfortable space of being the player who nearly arrived, only to be denied when the biggest matches came around. First it was Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic who stood in the way. More recently, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have done the same.

That long wait finally ended when he won the French Open in June, and he followed it by lifting the US Open title earlier this month. Those victories confirmed his place among the elite, yet criticism quickly settled on the fact that he beat only one top-10 player across those two major runs, with No 9 seed Ben Shelton falling in the US Open final.

It is clear that injuries to Alcaraz and Sinner have shaped the landscape in 2026, but Boris Becker has firmly rejected the idea that this alone explains Zverev’s success. Speaking on his podcast with Andrea Petkovic, Becker said: “I thought it was a bit of a shame after that then again the critics came saying, ‘Yeah, he only won because Alcaraz and Sinner didn’t play, or Alcaraz did play and Sinner was injured.’

“Or ‘He had an easy draw.’ So first, point one: it’s not his fault if Sinner gets injured before. It’s not his fault if Alcaraz spent four months injured, and thankfully, is back again, and in the quarters against Shelton, loses.

“It’s not his fault if his seeds in that half all lose early. He can only beat the opponent he has to face on the court. I actually find that an absolute disgrace. Incredible disrespect toward his performance.

“If that were a one-off fluke, okay. He’s in the final for a third Grand Slam in a row. Actually, he should in Melbourne – where he served for the match against Alcaraz in the semi – also been in the final. This guy could have been in the final of all four Slams this year.

“He was in three, he is the current Roland Garros champion, Wimbledon finalist. Now people have to finally – in the Autumn of his career – pay him the respect he deserves.

“I’m not wearing a German cap here. I see it as an athlete, as a tennis player. You have to show players respect who simply deliver their performance, and so that is why I’m very happy that Sascha won.”

Zverev’s latest triumph has not silenced everyone. John McEnroe drew attention by calling for Alcaraz and Sinner to return immediately after the US Open final, while other voices questioned whether Zverev had been fortunate not to face either player. Social media reaction, and commentary from around the sport, has often followed the same line.

Zverev himself has acknowledged that Sinner remains the man to beat when fully fit. Yet the resistance to fully embracing his 2026 season says as much about his standing off court as it does about his results on it. The allegations he has previously denied also continue to be raised by detractors.

Whatever the reception, the new US Open champion has completed a season that delivered the major breakthrough he had spent years chasing.

Elena Rybakina has made a strong start to her stint as WTA world No 1, but the path to finishing the year there remains demanding with Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff still in the hunt.

The two-time Grand Slam winner became the 30th player to reach the top of the WTA Rankings on Monday, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No 1 after a surge built on her US Open title run.

With Pegula and Gauff both falling in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, Rybakina begins her reign with a 2,026-point cushion over the player she replaced. Pegula sits another 610 points back in third, while Gauff is just 21 points behind her in fourth.

WTA Top 5 After US Open

1. Elena Rybakina – 9,901 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka – 7,875
3. Jessica Pegula – 7,265
4. Coco Gauff – 7,244
5. Mirra Andreeva – 5,743

The question now is whether that advantage can survive until the season ends at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells in November.

Rybakina carries the heaviest load in terms of points to defend before the close of 2026. Most of that total comes from her unbeaten run at last year’s WTA Finals, where she collected the maximum 1,500 points. Her Asian swing also adds to the challenge, after she played the China Open, Wuhan Open, Ningbo Open and Japan Open in a late push to reach the season-ending event in Saudi Arabia.

That campaign paid off, as she won the WTA Finals, but it left her with significant ground to cover over the next two months. She reached the quarter-finals in Wuhan, won Ningbo, made the semi-finals in Tokyo and lost in the second round in Beijing, although those Beijing points are non-countable. In total, she has 2,410 points to defend once the WTA Finals tally is included.

The other contenders have lighter burdens. Sabalenka will reduce the gap without stepping on court, with only 1,390 points to defend. Pegula is defending 1,440 points, while Gauff will drop 1,590. Mirra Andreeva is well behind the leading group, but with only 131 points to defend, she could move into the discussion if she lands a couple of big titles.

Without last year’s points, Rybakina still leads Sabalenka by 1,007 points. Yet that margin would vanish if Sabalenka, or any of the other challengers, wins the WTA Finals. For now, Rybakina holds the edge. The race is not settled.

Alex Eala has become one of the most striking stories in the women’s game, climbing quickly through the WTA Rankings after her breakthrough run to the semi-finals of the 2025 Miami Open.

The Filipina has since put together a series of notable wins over top-10 opponents and has drawn a growing support base, with tickets to see her now being snapped up rapidly. Her progress has naturally led to comparisons with Emma Raducanu after the British player’s 2021 US Open triumph, though Eala’s rise appears to be taking a more sustained shape.

That has helped push her beyond Raducanu’s shadow and into the conversation as a new star of the WTA Tour. It also makes major sponsorship interest feel inevitable, with leading companies expected to want in as her profile continues to rise.

Eala’s schedule is already set for the next stretch of the season. She is due to play the Singapore Open from September 21st, then represent the Philippines at the Asian Games. After that, she will compete at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open and is also expected to feature in more events during the Asian swing to finish her 2026 campaign.

Her first WTA Tour title in Washington lifted her into the top 20 for the first time, and she later reached No 18 after making the third round at the US Open. With relatively few points to defend in the coming months, further movement is possible.

So far, Eala has earned $3,335,990 in prize money, placing her just inside the top 300 on the all-time WTA Tour list. That figure is set to rise if her current level continues.

She already counts Nike, Globe Telecom, Babolat, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Milo Philippines and Locally Juice among her sponsors.

Her biggest wins include the victory over Iga Swiatek during her Miami run, plus later triumphs against Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Pegula. She also reached her first WTA final in Eastbourne, where she held match point against Maya Joint before losing.

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski said: “There’s only one other person that I can compare to her sort of star status. It’s Serena Williams,” declared Rusedski on his podcast.

Gigi Salmon also said: “In Dubai, it was like a pop concert. It was like a Taylor Swift concert. People were screaming and maybe that can become a burden at some point, but I like the fact that at the moment, she just seems to be flourishing. She thanked them all and she’s a superstar. I just think she’s got everything.”