Ajla Tomljanovic has singled out the area of Carlos Alcaraz’s game she believes has been most influenced by his wrist injury, even as the Spaniard continues to look increasingly settled at the US Open.

Alcaraz returned to competition in New York after more than four months away with a wrist problem. He first eased back through the mixed doubles before quickly finding his rhythm in singles, where his form has sharpened with each round at Flushing Meadows.

The seven-time major winner has conceded only one set in the tournament, that coming against Jaime Faria in the second round. On Sunday, he produced another strong display to defeat 20th seed Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Afterwards, the former world No 1 said, “I played my game. I tried to play my style. Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it is really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time.

“I tried not to let him stay [high up] on the court and I think I did pretty well to put so much pressure on return games, which for me helped a lot to play relaxed, to play calm and think clearly. I’m really happy with the performance today.”

Against Paul, Alcaraz struck three aces to four, landed 75% of his first serves, won 72% of those points, and collected 44% of return points. He also finished with 33 winners compared with Paul’s 18.

Alcaraz later said he felt he was back to full physical power, and he now moves on to face Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.

Tomljanovic, speaking on the Big T podcast, suggested the forehand may already be back to an even higher level, while the serve still appears affected. She said, “It’s really impressive to me that apparently Carlos is hitting it harder than pre injury, whereas his serve hasn’t yet gotten to the miles per hour that we’ve seen pre injury.

“So clearly it tells us that the wrist issue must have been more present on the serve.”

Brad Gilbert was more encouraged by what he has seen, pointing to signs that Alcaraz is improving both physically and mentally as he trusts the wrist again.

Alex Eala has wrapped up her North American hard-court stretch after a third-round exit at the US Open, with her next stop set for Asia on the WTA Tour calendar.

The Filipina’s trip through the United States and Canada covered seven busy weeks and began at the Washington DC Open. From there, she moved on to the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and then the US Open, following the productive grass-court season that preceded it.

Her best result of the swing came at the WTA 500 Citi DC Open, where she defeated Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula on the way to her first WTA singles title. She then reached the round of 16 in Toronto before going out in the second round in Cincinnati.

After that, she responded in New York with a career-best run to the third round at the US Open, where she fell in three sets to good friend Iva Jovic. Although the result ended her campaign, it also closed a North American spell that delivered both a title and a further deep Grand Slam run.

Eala had already confirmed she will represent the Philippines at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. During her post-match press conference at the US Open, she also made clear she has one more WTA Tour event before that.

“Before that I believe I’ll be in Singapore,” she said.

The Singapore Open is scheduled for 21-27 September, and Eala is set for her second appearance at the event. This time, however, she will enter the main draw for the first time. She played there in February 2025 but lost in the second round of qualifying.

Eala is expected to be seeded sixth in Singapore thanks to her current WTA Ranking of 18. After that, she will head to Japan for the Asian Games, which run from 27 September to 3 October at Higashiyama Park Tennis Centre.

Her decision to play there means she will miss the China Open in Beijing, but she is expected to return later in China for the Wuhan Open. The Asia swing runs until 8 November, and while her remaining schedule is not yet confirmed, she is expected to add more events before the season ends.

Coco Gauff remains one of the leading American hopes at this year’s US Open, and the former champion has spoken about the expectations surrounding her in New York.

Gauff, who won the tournament in 2023, is one of five American women still in the draw at Flushing Meadows. As the second-highest ranked American woman on the WTA Tour, sitting just behind Jessica Pegula, she enters the Grand Slam with considerable attention on her results.

After beating Cristina Busca in straight sets in the third round, Gauff was asked in her post-match press conference whether the pressure she faces is similar to Alex Eala’s. Eala has drawn major support throughout the event, with the Filipino community turning out in large numbers for her matches.

Gauff said she does not see the two situations as comparable.

“I can’t empathise at all, because she’s, like, the first Filipino player to break a lot of the barriers that she’s done, especially, like, on the female side,” said Gauff.

She continued: “And when you speak of athletes from the Philippines, I mean, she’s doing similar things to what Manny Pacquiao was doing for her country.

“I’m lucky to be from the U.S., where we had a lot of icons to look up to and people who’ve already broken down doors for me to be here where I am, so I can’t really empathise on that aspect.

“I think the only way I can is maybe just, like, the hype of everybody expecting you to win every single match. I guess I can empathise on that standpoint, but I definitely think she probably has more pressure or, well, I don’t know, from the outside looking in, has more pressure.

Gauff also spoke warmly about her friendship with Eala, noting that the two have often partnered in doubles over the years.

“As far as our relationship, Alex and I are friends,” continued Gauff. “Her family just reminds me so much of mine. Like, she has a brother, and both her parents are usually with her at tournaments, and she’s just such a cool, like, nice girl, and someone I would like to get to know even more.

“We just went for dinner for the first time, actually, in Toronto, and I got to know her a little bit more. Then, and obviously, we played doubles together. But I have a lot of respect for her from what she’s doing. But yeah, I can’t really empathise. I feel like she has more pressure than I do.”

The pair have met twice on the WTA Tour, with one win each. Gauff beat Eala at the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this year, while Eala responded a month later with victory at Indian Wells.