Iga Swiatek’s difficult 2026 season reached another low point at the US Open, where Qinwen Zheng ended her run in the fourth round. Zheng won 7-5, 6-3, a result that confirms Swiatek will finish the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since the 2021 season.

The defeat also underlined how rare a deep major run has been for the six-time Grand Slam champion this year. Swiatek has not reached a semi final at any major in 2026. Her Grand Slam results have been limited to fourth-round exits at the US Open and Roland Garros, a third-round loss at Wimbledon, and a quarter final showing at the Australian Open.

After the match, Swiatek gave a subdued press conference, but she made clear that she still expects to keep pushing through the closing stretch of the season. When asked about whether she might stop early to continue working with coach Francisco Roig, she replied: “I don’t intend to stop; I know I can improve my game. This second part of the season is better for me anyway.”

Swiatek has often produced her best tennis during the WTA Tour’s Asian swing, which may help explain her decision to remain on schedule through the end of the year. Her career titles in that part of the season include the Korea Open, the China Open, and the San Diego Open, all won between September and November.

She also lifted the WTA Finals in 2023 and will hope to find enough form to return to that event in 2026. The season-ending championship is being held at Indian Wells this year and is reserved for the top eight players in the race.

Swiatek is currently 10th in the standings, placing her outside the qualification spots. She sits behind Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova, with Noskova expected to qualify after her Wimbledon triumph. Two WTA 1000 events remain, the China Open and the Wuhan Open, so the picture can still change.

Swiatek will not play the Singapore Open, but she is entered for the China Open, which begins on September 30 and gives her more than three weeks before her next scheduled match.

Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski has praised Alex Eala as the WTA Tour’s best returner in the world right now, while also drawing stylistic parallels with Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal.

Rusedski said, “When I watch her, she reminds me a little bit of   Rafael Nadal; the intensity she has on the court. And you look at her positioning with her body.

“She’s always at the same level with her height when she moves from the back of the court, almost a little bit reminiscent of the intensity of Rafael, but the level on height with the bending of the knees like   Jannik Sinner. So, it’s a brilliant combination she has. And the mindset is second to none.”

He then went further, adding, “S he’s probably the best return of serve player in the world at the moment. The way she can take it so early, take your time away. It doesn’t matter if she’s facing a big server or someone who’s serving slow, she’s willing to step in.”

That assessment, though, runs into the broader WTA return statistics for 2026, which point to a more nuanced picture. Across the official figures, different players lead different categories, making it difficult to crown a single dominant returner.

In the top 10 and Eala’s position at 18th, Iga Swiatek stands out as the strongest overall returner, leading three of the four main measures. Coco Gauff is second, with the best first-serve return points won mark in the group, while Mirra Andreeva is third and sits near the top 30 in three categories.

Eala, by contrast, ranks eighth in this 11-player comparison. Her numbers place her 100th for first-serve return points won, 67th for second-serve return points won, 75th for return games won, and 73rd for return points won.

The stats also come with a clear caveat. Many players in the sample have only played a handful of matches, which skews the picture. Even so, the available data do not support the idea that Eala is the best returner on tour at this point in the season.

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).”