Carlos Alcaraz’s late-night loss to Ben Shelton has prompted a strong response from inside his own camp, with one key team member directing a clear criticism at US Open organisers.

Alcaraz was beaten in five sets by Shelton in a quarter-final that did not begin until after 11pm on Tuesday and finished at 3:33am on Wednesday. That made it the latest finish in the tournament’s history.

The match was the fourth scheduled in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, following the men’s quarter-final between Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen, along with two women’s quarter-finals. Every one of the four matches went to a deciding set, while three were settled by a match tiebreak in the final set.

After the match, Alberto Lledo, Alcaraz’s fitness trainer, said the scheduling crossed a line from a physical standpoint. He wrote on Instagram: “On some occasions, I know (I say this humbly) that performance is not synonymous with health,” Lledo wrote on Instagram.

He added: “We have to adapt to any circumstance, and whoever does it first gains a competitive edge, but starting a 5-set tennis match at 11pm is anything but healthy for an athlete.”

The US Open’s scheduling approach has drawn wider scrutiny since the Shelton-Alcaraz contest. Paolo Bertolucci, the former Italian player and current Sky commentator in Italy, also reacted strongly on X/Twitter.

“They’ve decided to kill tennis,” wrote Bertolucci, who won six ATP Tour singles titles and peaked at world No 12.

“Over four hours of a match that ends at 3:30 in the morning. Then they despair over absences due to injuries. Shame!!!

“Asking an athlete to perform at 3 a.m. means pursuing a diabolical plan designed to destroy tennis.”

Alcaraz, meanwhile, said after the defeat: “Well, as I said before the tournament began, my expectation was to go there, compete, play in these kinds of matches, for me, being healthy.

“So, it was close. It was close. So, I’m just a little bit disappointed about not getting the win, but I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought.

Mirra Andreeva and Qinwen Zheng both saw their 2026 US Open campaigns end in the quarter-finals, but their runs still brought significant gains in ranking points, prize money and live ranking position.

Zheng, who once reached world No 4 and is now ranked 121st, fell 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to second seed Elena Rybakina on Wednesday. Her path to the last eight included victories over Kristina Liutova, Yulia Putintseva, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, as well as three qualifying wins to get into the main draw in New York. That result marked her third appearance in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Andreeva’s run ended one round later in the draw after fifth seed Coco Gauff beat her 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 in the fourth and final women’s quarter-final. The 19-year-old Russian had earlier defeated Janice Tjen, Eva Lys, Nikola Bartunkova and Anastasia Potapova to reach her first US Open semi-final.

Despite the defeats, both players earned 430 WTA ranking points for making the quarter-finals at the year’s final major. Andreeva started the tournament at a career-high No 5 and remains fifth in the Live WTA Rankings, moving up by 300 points to 5,743. Zheng climbed sharply from No 121 to 52nd in the Live Rankings after adding 470 points to reach 1,083.

The financial return was identical as well. Andreeva and Zheng each collected $780,000 for reaching the final eight at Flushing Meadows.

US Open 2026 WTA ranking points breakdown: First Round 10, Second Round 70, Third Round 130, Fourth Round 240, Quarter-finals 430, Semi-finals 780, Finalist 1300, Champion 2000.

US Open 2026 WTA prize money breakdown: First Round $190,000, Second Round $190,000, Third Round $290,000, Fourth Round $480,000, Quarter-finals $780,000, Semi-finals $1.45 million, Finalist $2.8 million, Champion $5.5 million.

Coco Gauff advanced through a tense US Open quarter-final and then moved quickly to defend Mirra Andreeva after the Russian teenager reacted in frustration during the closing stages of a match that swung sharply in the American’s favor.

The women’s draw had already produced a full set of three-set quarter-finals, and that pattern continued when Elena Rybakina defeated Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 before Gauff and Andreeva took over on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For long stretches, neither player found stable form. The match was filled with mistakes and repeated lapses in rhythm, but Andreeva appeared to have control when she held two match points in the second-set tie-break. Gauff survived that escape act, then steadied herself while Andreeva’s game fell apart in the deciding set. The result was a 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 victory for Gauff in front of an animated home crowd.

“I just had to reset,” Gauff said. “I came out at the start, not feeling the ball, giving her too many free points.

“Mirra was playing a great level, but when I went to the restroom after the first set, honestly I was thinking about Frances Tiafoe and how he came back yesterday.

“We all want to do well in front of this crowd. I was trying to leave the court with no regrets, I didn’t know what outcome would come. You guys really helped pull me through.”

Gauff was later asked about Andreeva throwing her racket in anger in the final set, an action that nearly sent it toward a cameraman. Even so, Gauff rejected the idea that the teenager should have been disqualified.

“Honestly, I didn’t really see any negative reaction except for one racket throw at the changeover,” stated Gauff.

“I felt like she was calm pretty much most of the match. I don’t know what the camera picked up, but I didn’t see any bad behaviour.

“If anything, at the beginning of the match, I was showing the most frustration.

“It’s normal. In the game, I could feel more tension as she started throwing in more errors. I mean she had one throw, but I may probably have done the same if I was in her position.”

Tim Henman said the contest was defined by nerves rather than quality. “It was amazing to watch, because you’ve got two brilliant players capable of playing some amazing tennis who through serving issues and errors became so tight and so nervous,” Henman told Sky Sports.

“The ball speed deteriorated, and went down and down. But that’s the beauty of tennis. It’s about keeping the ball on the island and cutting out unforced errors.

“That is going to be a very difficult defeat for Andreeva to get over, having had match points in the second set. But she will learn so much from it. She’ll be incredibly disappointed.”

Gauff will next face soon to be newly crowned world No 1 Rybakina for a place in the US Open final.