Carlos Alcaraz has made clear that he intends to alter his schedule in the years ahead, insisting that longer pauses from competition will be necessary if he wants to reduce the risk of further injury. The seven-time Grand Slam winner also believes the sport is heading toward an even more serious physical problem unless something changes.

For several seasons, Alcaraz and other leading players have argued that tennis’ demanding calendar is adding strain to their bodies. Their concerns have remained largely unanswered, and this year has brought more examples of the issue they have been highlighting. Alcaraz missed four months because of a wrist injury, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner has been sidelined from the US Open with a knee problem.

Alcaraz suffered the injury at the Barcelona Open in April and returned to action at Flushing Meadows this week. Speaking after his comeback, he again pointed to the 40-week schedule as a major concern and said the demands of the tour will force him to make difficult decisions if he is to extend his career.

“Returning took me more time than I wanted, to be honest. Obviously I didn’t want to have this break because of an injury, but in the future, I’m going to take some breaks, some long breaks.

“Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, missing some tournaments, because it’s impossible to play them all.

“I think they are adding more important tournaments. In a way, they are forcing us to choose. You can skip one or two, you can decide your calendar, but there are some Masters 1000s, Grand Slams [that you can’t skip] and we are going to play for 40 weeks if we are going to play every mandatory tournament that the ATP requires us to play.

“It’s impossible and we are seeing a lot of players getting injured, a lot of players are getting tired and if they don’t do anything about it, we are going to see it even more [injuries] in the future.

“But for me, taking this break because of an injury, it wasn’t that good, but what I am saying is I am going to take some breaks and miss some tournaments in future for sure.”

He has played 80 matches in 2025, second only to Alexander Zverev, and was 23-3 for the 2026 season after his 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Jaime Faria. Alcaraz said he started the match too quickly and lacked patience in the opening set before settling down.

“The first set, I was feeling great, had a break point and a pretty easy forehand for me that I missed. I was in a rush. I didn’t take time. I wasn’t patient,” he said during his on-court interview. “That cost me the break. Against someone like Jaime, he’s serving like 140 [mph], every serve is really difficult.

“After that, I just tried to be focused and stay calm and think that good things are going to happen again.”

Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin made US Open history on Monday night, but the timing of their first-round match drew sharp criticism from Martina Navratilova.

The all-American meeting on Arthur Ashe Stadium began at 12:13am local time, setting a new mark for the latest start in US Open history. The match ended just before 2am.

What had initially been scheduled for Sunday evening at the main showcourt in Flushing Meadows turned into a long and confusing delay. The contest was moved back after the Novak Djokovic-Mariano Navone match ran close to five hours, leaving organisers to reshuffle the program.

As midnight approached, the match was sent to Louis Armstrong Stadium. Williams and Kenin were already on the move when they were informed at the last moment that the Djokovic-Navone match had finished, forcing another switch back to Arthur Ashe.

Kenin eventually advanced with a 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) victory and thanked the crowd for staying so late. She said: “Thank you guys so much for staying, I know it’s 2am. Here playing in New York, I love it here. Second night session on [Arthur] Ashe, you can’t ask for anything better. I’m grateful to be on this court, I absolutely love it here.”

Williams was more pointed in her assessment after the match. “I’ve never played a match that late before. It’s not ideal. I would have preferred something else. I think it wasn’t great for either of us,” the seven-time Grand Slam winner said.

“I definitely think there’s room for improvement there.”

Navratilova echoed that view, arguing the scheduling model needs attention. “It was the latest start for a women’s match ever. After midnight, and it could have been later. Tennis is the only sport that does this. I think it’s crazy,” she told Sky Sports.

“I think they need to fix the night session. It’s too late. I think they should play men’s singles and then maybe a doubles match. If you do women’s singles you can still have another doubles match, or another women’s singles. You’ll see get four sets of play minimum.

“Even if you put the women’s match on first and it’s three sets, the guys start by 10pm. If a men’s match goes five sets, you start at midnight.

“You’re never on the court at midnight and you never start a match at midnight, so it’s counterproductive for everybody, spectators and the players.”

Aryna Sabalenka was drawn into a sharp exchange with a journalist after her second-round US Open victory, following a question that appeared to link her tournament preparation with partying.

The world No 1 arrived in New York under some scrutiny. Several pundits had backed her to struggle to defend her title after a recent dip in form, including early defeats at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. Instead, she has made a strong start to her campaign, backing up a two-set win over Camila Osorio with a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 dismissal of qualifier Polina Iatcenko on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The flashpoint came in the post-match press conference, when Sabalenka took issue with a question about her mood and the run-up to the event. She believed the line of questioning suggested she had been partying too much and was not properly focused on tennis.

The exchange quickly grew tense.

Journalist: “I’m sort of curious. How are you finding like your mood once… now that the tournament has started? Obviously last week it’s lots of parties and fun and stuff like that.”

Sabalenka: “Are you guys like a joke? Party [partying] is fun. Like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? Like what kind of question is that? Like just because I posted like some activities with brands and you think that I’ve been fighting, not training.”

Journalist: “I’m not suggesting that you’re partying. … I’m saying that there are a lot of events and things like that. I’m not saying you go to the parties and that you’re…

Sabalenka: “You literally said that … Next question.”

Jouanlist: “For everyone, for everyone who’s not clear, Aryna I’m not suggesting that Aryna is having fun at these parties. I’m saying that she makes a lot of appearances and there’s a lot to do and lots of events. Okay.”

Sabalenka: “Move on.”

Journalist: “So, now that the tournament started, do you find you’re getting quite serious and combative?”

Sabalenka: “Oh, yeah. I wasn’t serious before that. Next question.”

As another journalist began asking a separate question, Sabalenka added one final remark: “Think before you say stuff, I yeah, sorry. No, not you.”

Sabalenka now moves on to face Kamilla Rakhimova in the third round. She also remains under ranking pressure, with the No 1 spot set to pass to Elena Rybakina if the Kazakh player reaches the semi-final.