Iga Swiatek’s US Open campaign ended in disappointing fashion, with Qinwen Zheng defeating her in straight sets and bringing a sudden close to her run at Flushing Meadows.

Swiatek started the match in command, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set. Yet the advantage slipped away, and Zheng turned the set around to win it 7-5. From there, Swiatek could not recover.

The defeat carried wider significance as well. It confirmed that Swiatek will not win a Grand Slam in a season for the first time since 2021. For a player who has collected six majors since her debut year in 2019, that absence stands out sharply.

Her summer on North American hard courts had suggested momentum was returning after her Canadian Open title, but her relationship with coach Francisco Roig again drew attention during the loss. Marion Bartoli, working courtside for Sky Sports Tennis, pointed to visible friction between the pair in the fourth-round match.

“I can tell you that at 15-40 [at 5-7, 2-3] when Iga Swiatek stepped in on the return and tried to take the wide serve early, Francisco Roig almost jumped out of his chair because that’s not a tactic he wants her to use,” said the Frenchwoman.

“He wants her to let the ball drop, stay far behind the baseline, and start the point. Fortunately for Iga Swiatek, she’s been trying to close out the point a fraction too early despite Francisco Roig’s advice and he’s not happy about it.”

Martina Navratilova also noted an unusual exchange from Swiatek’s box, saying, “I think she might have lost a little confidence in her box when they told her to get a looser racket because she’s missing balls,” said Navratilova. “That’s just a peculiar piece of advice. And now maybe she’s questioning everything.”

Swiatek’s exit also dropped her to world No 9 and ended another personal mark. Before losing to Zheng, she had never lost to a qualifier or lucky loser at a Grand Slam.

Her next likely return is during the WTA Tour’s Asian swing between September and November, which includes the China Open and the Wuhan Open.

Jim Courier came away from Iva Jovic and Alex Eala’s US Open battle with a bold thought: tennis might be worth testing with just one serve.

The 14th seed Jovic edged 17th seed Eala 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night in a third-round match that lasted more than three hours. The contest featured constant momentum swings and plenty of pressure on serve, with 17 breaks across 33 games. Jovic was broken nine times, while Eala was broken eight times.

Speaking on Tennis Channel, the former world No 1 said the match had prompted him to imagine a trial run for a different format.

“I think this is a really interesting match, because both of these players are so fantastic with their movement, and besides their serves, their games are amazing,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion.

He then expanded on the idea, pointing to the level of return and movement on display.

“The first serves, for both of them, really do need to improve, and it got me thinking: this is the match of the tournament on the women’s side — is this not an advertisement for, maybe, let’s do an exhibition sometime, a trial, in eliminating first serves and seeing what happens?

“This tennis was incredible. Sometimes, especially in men’s tennis, it can just be a serve fest, and it’s a little less interesting, it’s more target practice.

“This was strategy, this was athleticism and movement, all over the court. For me, it was like a light bulb went off. Like, this is amazing. How can we get more of this?”

Courier also joked about how such a concept might have applied during his own playing days.

“I [wanted to play with one serve] when I played [Pete] Sampras, but his second serve was basically a first serve, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He’d still crush me (laughs).”

Brad Gilbert has argued that Alex Eala’s serve is holding her back after her US Open run came to an end.

Eala’s third-round meeting with American Iva Jovic delivered one of the tournament’s standout contests, as the two young players battled for more than three hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 18-year-old eventually prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, rallying from a break down in the deciding set. Gilbert called it the match of the tournament, while former US Open quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanović labeled it the match of the year.

The performance again brought Eala’s serve under scrutiny. In late July, Rennae Stubbs said the Filipina would not be able to win a Grand Slam if her serve did not improve significantly, a stance the Australian has since partly softened.

Greg Rusedski has suggested that Eala has the potential to reach the top of the WTA rankings and win a major in the future. Gilbert, however, believes the serve is the first area that must be corrected.

Speaking on the Big T podcast, he said Eala’s delivery would be difficult to survive on the men’s tour and pointed to the pace of her first serve. He urged a major increase in speed and said too many points begin with what he described as a serve that gives away the advantage immediately.

He said on the Big T podcast, “So what you were seeing from Eala last night (Saturday), it would be impossible to get away with that on the men’s side. She’s throwing in 73mph first serves.

“So that would be the first thing from the coaching standpoint that you would really try to focus on. It’s like, OK, I understand throwing in… I call it the three quarter serve, but let’s go 103. Let’s go 105. I feel like she hits way too many serves where she just literally hits a fifth serve and gets the point started.

“It’s like you start with no serve. That’s what she does a lot of points with. She just starts with no serve, that shot needs a lot of work. And she also doesn’t have a can opener lefty serve.

“My brain is thinking if she could improve her serve dramatically, I think her game will go up exponentially. But I think that is a shot she has to improve.”