Coco Gauff says she is finally approaching her serve with real belief, even while the 2026 numbers place her at the top of an unwanted leaderboard.

The two-time Grand Slam champion, who has lifted titles at the US Open and French Open over the past three years, endured major problems with her delivery and reached a low point on the shot around this time last year. At that stage, she was in tears on court as she battled to find control, prompting the arrival of biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan to address the long-running issue.

The latest WTA Tour figures underline just how severe the problem has been this season. Gauff has produced 308 double faults in matches in 2026, the highest total on tour by a clear margin. American Alycia Parks is next on the list with 222, while Jelena Ostapenko also had 222 heading into the US Open. Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova is among the others inside the top ten, with 213.

Yet Gauff’s tone now is far more assured than it was a year ago. The 2023 US Open champion said the mental side of the serve has changed significantly.

“Last year I knew all eyes were going to be on the serve,” she reflected. “Gavin is so great at what he does, so I felt a lot of pressure — even pressure I put on myself to prove he’s great at what he does.

“It didn’t really show within the first two weeks, which is normal. But psychologically, I’m now serving and it’s ‘Oh, I’m going for the ace,’ or ‘I know I can hit the serve, and the return is probably not going to come back,’ versus last year I literally was like ‘I hope I make it in’.

“It feels good to come into a tournament feeling confident on that shot finally,” Gauff said. “I still want to improve my serve, but I always knew I was capable of having a good one because I can hit overheads well and I can get up there high on the serve speed.

“It was about making it consistent. Once I got confident in the consistency, then I was able to pull the trigger a lot more often.

“Now that I’m returning well and serving well, it just feels good. You feel a lot more at ease when the shot is going in. I didn’t even need it to be great. I just needed it to go in — now it’s getting good and it’s going in.”

Carlos Alcaraz marked his comeback with a straight-sets win at the US Open after four months away because of a wrist injury, but the match offered more than just a successful return. Against Roman Safiullin, the defending champion admitted he was carrying real uncertainty about whether his body and mind were ready for a best-of-five-set contest.

That hesitation was visible early. Alcaraz appeared tense in the opening stages, and some of his first serves in the first set fell below 100mph. Even so, the quality that has long defined his game still surfaced, especially through his forehand, which produced several of the kind of winners that have become his trademark. He completed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory and will next face Portugal’s Jaime Faria.

“There were some doubts in the match, I’m not going to lie. Thinking about if I would last the match, best of five, playing four or five sets,” said Alcaraz, who will play Portugal’s Jaime Faria next.

“I had a little bit of doubt, but I tried to forget everything and focus on the things I needed to improve. I thought about what would happen in the match and physically I felt really well.”

His return also drew attention for reasons beyond tennis. Alcaraz wore a new brown Nike outfit, one that revealed more of his upper torso than usual, and he repeatedly adjusted it during the match. The basketball-style top, partially designed by rapper Travis Scott, quickly became a talking point online.

Former British No 1 Laura Robson captured the reaction courtside, saying: “It could do with a little more material,” said Robson, as she watched on from courtside for Sky Sports. “But it depends what you are looking for!”

Alcaraz was also asked about his hair after the match. Unlike his shaved look at last year’s US Open, he is now wearing his hair long and using an Alice band. He made clear that no change is coming during the event.

“In the tournament, I’m gonna keep it long, for sure,” declared Alcaraz.

“Then I don’t know! Once I start a tournament with a hairstyle, then I have to keep it until the tournament is finished.”

There are now 22 withdrawals from the 2026 US Open across the men’s and women’s singles draws, with the opening round still underway at Flushing Meadows.

Main draw action began on Sunday 30 August at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, as the 146th edition of the event got under way. The volume of absences has continued a familiar pattern in 2026, with withdrawals again becoming a notable feature of major tournaments.

Of the 22 players who have stepped aside, 13 are men and nine are women. Twenty of those withdrawals were confirmed before the singles draws were released, while the latest developments came after play had already started.

Among the biggest names to pull out earlier were Jannik Sinner, Victoria Mboko, Joao Fonseca, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.

The newest ATP withdrawal was Casper Ruud, who had been set to open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The former world No 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist withdrew on Sunday because of a back injury that forced him to retire at the Cincinnati Masters.

Marin Cilic then became the second prominent ATP player to exit after the tournament began. The 37-year-old Croatian pulled out before his scheduled first-round meeting with Andrey Rublev on Monday, also due to injury.

Cilic’s place in US Open history remains secure. He won his only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, where he defeated Kei Nishikori in the final after beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

The withdrawal lists also show replacements across both draws, with several players coming in as lucky losers or direct alternates. In total, the early exits have reshaped both the men’s and women’s fields before the tournament has even reached its second round stage.