Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has taken aim at what he sees as a growing habit on the ATP and WTA Tours, arguing that several players are too quick to frame painful losses in positive terms.

Carlos Alcaraz, Alex Eala, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula all drew scrutiny from Mouratoglou after their US Open exits, with each of them saying they were satisfied with aspects of their performances. Alcaraz, the defending champion, fell to Ben Shelton in four sets in the quarter-final, then spoke about being proud of his effort and happy to leave the court with a smile.

“It was close. It was close. So I’m just not going to be disappointed about don’t getting the win at the end. You know, I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought,” he said.

“You know, after the third set, physically I was really tired, but you know, I found a way to push myself up and, you know, physically giving extra.”

The world No 3 added: “You know, I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”

Eala, beaten by Iva Jovic in the third round, and Swiatek, who lost to Zheng Qinwen in the round of 16, also described their matches in similar terms. Pegula, meanwhile, said there was little she could do after falling in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final.

Mouratoglou, writing on LinkedIn, said he was not convinced by that reaction. He pointed to Alcaraz’s long battle on court and argued that champions are defined by how deeply they dislike losing. In his view, no winning culture can coexist with acceptance of defeat.

The coach, who worked with Serena Williams from 2012 to 2022, also suggested Alcaraz may have arrived with limited expectations after a four-month injury absence and his first tournament since the Barcelona Open. But he said a player of that level should still believe the title is there to be won.

For Mouratoglou, the issue is not only etiquette after defeat, but a broader shift in attitude. He ended by suggesting the pattern is now hard to ignore: “So I guess it’s a trend.”

Carlos Alcaraz has been put forward as a contender for a major haul in the coming years after returning to competition at the US Open following more than four months away with a wrist issue.

His decision to come back at Flushing Meadows raised questions because he had also skipped Cincinnati, and there was clear concern that heading straight into best-of-five-set tennis might prove too much. Instead, the early signs suggest the Spaniard is fit again and already moving toward his best form before the 2026 season is over.

Although Ben Shelton’s New York run ended in the quarter-finals, the seven-time major winner has still drawn strong backing from Rick Macci. Serena Williams’ former coach believes Alcaraz can lift at least two Grand Slams, and possibly three, in 2027. Macci also feels the 23-year-old will be even stronger mentally, a prospect that would not be welcome for world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and the rest of the field.

Macci wrote, ” The Spanish Magician, barring injury in 2027, will take another step towards rare air and bag at least 2, maybe 3 Grand Slams. What I saw mentally from him at the U.S. WIDE OPEN was another level of you cannot make this up.

“From adversity and fear, you find another gear from ear to ear. He showed me and the world more superpowers after not being in combat for 139 days.

“Most observers do not understand or appreciate what he did and how he did it. Forget the winning and losing as that to me is a by product. Next year he will be match tougher and even better mentally and locked in deeper and rougher.”

Alcaraz’s absence has pushed him down to third in the ATP Tour rankings and fourth in the Race. He sits more than 4,500 points behind US Open champion Zverev in the rankings, while Zverev and Sinner are expected to battle for year-end No 1.

Zverev has won two majors this year, helped by the fact that Sinner and Alcaraz were either missing or did not reach the final. Novak Djokovic remains a factor, but with the Serbian now down to 11 in the rankings, turning 40 next year and facing increasing health concerns, his major prospects are in question.

Sinner is scheduled to return after a knee injury that ruled him out of this year’s US Open. If Macci’s forecast proves accurate and Alcaraz collects three majors in 2027, the remainder of the tour will have a major challenge on its hands.

Iva Jovic made one of the clearest moves of the week on the WTA Tour, successfully retaining her Guadalajara Open title in Mexico while Emma Raducanu continued to fall in the rankings.

After the demanding US Open, most of the leading names stepped away from competition. Marta Kostyuk was the lone top-10 player in action, and the world No 10 reached the quarter-finals in Guadalajara before exiting. That result left her ranking unchanged. Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, begins a second week at No 1 on Monday after moving past Aryna Sabalenka following her US Open title run. Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva round out the top five.

The biggest shift inside the top 20 belongs to Jovic. The 18-year-old collected 451 points for her title run in Mexico and climbed three places to a career-best No 13. She is now within touching distance of Belinda Bencic in 12th, and her progress suggests the top 10 is close.

Jovic’s advance pushes Diana Shnaider, Victoria Mboko and Sorana Cirstea down one spot each, while Naomi Osaka, Alex Eala, Elise Mertens and Jasmine Paolini hold steady in the top 20.

Further back, the largest gains came from Guadalajara. Runner-up Peyton Stearns rose 24 places to No 36, which also puts her eight positions above her previous career high of No 28. Cristina Bucsa climbed nine spots to No 35 after reaching the semi-finals, while Ludmilla Samsonova moved up 12 places to No 38. Magdalena Fręch, another quarter-finalist, is up 12 to No 45, and Sloane Stephens jumped 34 places to No 135 after also making the last eight.

The SP Open final was pushed to Monday, with Kaitlin Quevedo and Nadia Podoroska set to meet for a maiden title. Quevedo is already up 14 spots to No 91, while Podoroska has surged 117 places to No 200.

Elsewhere, Paula Badosa is up 13 to No 56 after reaching the semi-finals in Brazil, and Anna Blinkova is up eight to No 86. Among the main fallers are Katerina Siniakova, Lilli Tagger, Emma Raducanu and Maya Joint.

WTA Top 20 remains led by Elena Rybakina, followed by Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva.